History of Quebec City

Quebec City is one of the oldest European settlements in North America.

French rule

Quebec City was founded on July 3, 1608, by Samuel de Champlain. Champlain named his settlement after a local native word meaning “the river narrows here.” Champlain's settlement was located at the foot of Cap Diamant, the peninsula on which Old Quebec lies today. The French settlement was at first sparsely inhabited and served mostly as a base for fur trading and missionaries. In 1615, the first missionaries, the Recollets, arrived in the city.

From 1629 to 1632, the city briefly passed into possession of the English. During the Anglo-French War (1627–1629) , under Charles I, by 1629 the Kirkes took Quebec City, Sir James Stewart of Killeith, Lord Ochiltree planted a colony on Cape Breton Island at Baleine, and Alexander’s son, William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling established the first incarnation of “New Scotland” at Port Royal, Nova Scotia. This set of British triumphs which left only Cape Sable (present-day Port La Tour, Nova Scotia) as the only major French holding in North America was not destined to last.

The Jesuits arrived in 1635 and the Ursulines and Augustines in 1639. In 1636, Charles Huault de Montmagny became the settlement’s governor, who presided over expansion of the settlement and construction of its first church, Notre Dame de la Paix (Our Lady of Peace). Surrounding the settlement were various parcels of farm land. By 1663, the year during which Quebec became the capital city of New France, the population of Quebec and its surrounding farm lands had reached 1,950 people. The English attempt to capture the city in 1696 during King William's War and it failed.

British rule

The Seven Years' War began in 1756. The British and French had co-existed in North America, but the threat of French expansion into the Ohio Valley caused the British to attempt to eradicate New France from the map completely. In the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, the city was permanently lost by the French. In 1763, France formally ceded its claims to Canada, and Quebec City's French-speaking, Catholic population was under the rule of Protestant Britain.

The Quebec Act, passed in 1774, allowed the Québécois to have religious freedom. The French Canadians were therefore not unhappy enough with British rule to choose to participate in the American Revolution. Without Canadian cooperation against the British, the 13 colonies instead attempted to invade Canada. The city was therefore once again under siege when the Battle of Quebec occurred in 1775. The initial attack was a failure due to American inexperience with the extreme cold temperatures of the city in December. Benedict Arnold refused to accept the defeat in the Battle of Quebec and a siege against the city continued until May 6, 1776, when the American army finally retreated.

The Constitutional Act of 1791 divided Canada into an "Upper", English-speaking colony, and a "Lower", French-speaking colony. Quebec City was made the capital of Lower Canada and enjoyed more self-rule following the passage of this act. The city's industry began to grow, and by the early 19th century it was the third largest port city in North America. Lumber was the largest export of the city at this time. The business boom continued for most of the century and Quebec City began welcoming thousands of immigrants.

20th century

In 1917, the construction of the Quebec Bridge, connecting the north and south banks of the St. Lawrence River, was finished. To this day, it is the longest cantilever bridge in the world, though two collapses of the centre of the bridge during construction cost over 80 workers lost their lives.

During World War II, two Allied Forces conferences were held in the city. The first, held in 1943, assembled Franklin Delano Roosevelt, president of the United States of America; Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; William Lyon Mackenzie King, Prime Minister of Canada and T.V. Soong, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs. The second conference was held in 1944 and Churchill and Roosevelt participated. The conferences were held at the Citadel and nearby Château Frontenac.

Modern-day Quebec City

In 1984, Opération Nez rouge was founded in Quebec City. It has been imitated in many European countries.

In April 2001, Quebec City played host to the Summit of the Americas where the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) was discussed. This conference was expected to be filled with confrontations between the police and anti-globalization groups, which meant that the location of walled Quebec City was vital for security reasons.

On January 1, 2002, surrounding towns were incorporated into the existing city. The "New Quebec city" includes 11 former municipalities: Sainte-Foy, Beauport, Charlesbourg, Sillery, Loretteville, Val-Bélair, Cap-Rouge, Saint-Émile, Vanier, and Lac-Saint-Charles, in addition to the original Quebec City.

In 2005, Capitale-Nationale played host to a major world sporting event, the World Police and Fire Games, which was a success for the city, with as many as 11,000 athletes and 14,000 persons accompanying them, making 25,000 persons in total. The city also experienced higher than average temperatures with an average of 30 degrees Celsius.

See also

• List of National Historic Sites of Canada in Quebec City