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Samuel de Champlain Finds Quebec City
On July 3rd 1608, Samuel de Champlain landed in Quebec. There they built several wooden buildings and a stockade. This became known as Champlain's Habitation, which was the beginning of Québec City. This became the start of the colony known as New France. Champlain wrote the following about Quebec “I searched for a place suitable for our settlement, but I could find none more convenient or better situated than the point of Quebec.” -
Quebec City Surrenders to the Kirke Brothers
Sir David Kirke was hired by England’s King Charles I as a Privateer to conduct raids in the New World. They seized Port-Royal in 1627 and captured Tadoussac in 1628. The brothers proceeded up river and demanded that Samuel de Champlain surrender Quebec, but Champlain refused. In July 1629, the brothers starved the French colonists and forced a bloodless surrender. The British controlled Quebec City until 1632 when the city was restored to the French by the Treaty of Saint-Germain. -
Founding of Montreal
Montreal was founded by Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve in May of 1642. Montreal became the missionary center to spread Catholicism to the natives. It also became a hub for the fur trade. De Maisonneuve built dwellings, a chapel, a hospital and other buildings. The Iroquois constantly attacked the settlement from 1640-42 along the St. Lawrence River. These conflicts ended with “The Great Peace of Montreal”, an agreement signed between the French and Five Nations (Iroquois) in 1701. -
Establishment of the Royal Government in New France
In 1663, Quebec City was still primarily a trading post for the fur trade. The French population was very small. The Charter of the Company of 100 Associates transferred the governance of New France into the hands of the king. In 1663, King Louis XIV created “The Royal Government” by proclamation for the region. He wanted to make France the most powerful country in Europe and to make New France a strong colony. -
Britain Takes Control of Acadia
Great Britain gained control of Acadia from France through the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. France kept Ile Royale and Ile Saint-Jean. France ceded Plaisance (Newfoundland) and Acadia “according to its ancient boundaries." However, France and England failed to agree on a definition of those boundaries. For the French, the territory only included the present day Nova Scotia. However, the English claimed what is today New Brunswick, Gaspé, and Maine. -
The Seven Years’ War
The Seven Years’ War is considered to be the first global conflict. The war opened fronts in Europe, India, and North America. War was declared on France by England in 1756. In 1758, the British turned the tide with the capture of Louisbourg. Following the capture of Quebec City in 1759 and Montreal in 1760, France surrendered and ceded control of Canada to Britain with the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1763). -
The Act of Union
Lord Durham was sent in 1838 to inquire about the causes for the violent rebellions of 1837-38 which took place in Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Durham’s report made two main recommendations: A unification of Upper and Lower Canada; the introduction of responsible government. The British Parliament implemented the first recommendation but not the second. The Act of Union was passed on July 1840 forming the Province of Canada by uniting Upper and Lower Canada into a single government.
