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30,000 BCE
Asian migrations across the Beringia land bridge
During the last ice age, the Asians took a bridge called the Beringia land bridge that connected Asia and North America. This all took place about 30000 years ago. -
10,000 BCE
First settlers
The first occupants of Québec established themselves in the year 10 000 BC. They are descendants of the Asian people that came across the Beringia land bridge. -
Founding of Tadoussac
Pierre Chauvin established a trading post in Tadoussac. The goalwas to centralize the trade between the Natives and the French. -
Founding of Port Royal
De Monts established a colony in Port Royal. However, the colony never grew and remained a trading post. Champlain was the cartographer. -
Founding of Québec
Samuel de Champlain founded Québec to facilitate fur trade with the Amerindians. -
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The French Regime
From the founding of Québec in 1608 to the Treaty of Versailles in 1763, France controlled much of the land on the continent including Acadia, the vast territory of Louisiana and the Mississippi Valley. -
Creation of the Company of One Hundred Associates
Founded in 1627 by Cardinal Richelieu. France will grant the Cùompany a privelege: the monopoly on the fur trade. -
Founding of Trois-Rivières
Laviolette founded the permanent colony Trois-Rivières. Trois-Rivières was founded for commercial purposes related to the fur trade. -
First outbreak of diseases
The first outbreak of diseases was caused by the contacts between the Amerindians and the French merchants carrying diseases. Many deaths occurred. -
Founding of Ville-Marie (Montréal)
In 1642, Chomedey de Maisonneuve found Ville-Marie. Several important people like Jeanne Mance who established the first hospital and Marguerite Bourgeois who established the first public school. As much as the French are interested in the fur trade, they are also interested in converting the Amerindians to the Catholic faith. -
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Arrival of the filles du roi
To balance the proportion of women and men, the King encouraged girls old enough to get married to emigrate to New France. The Filles du Roi received money from the King for finding a spouse in New France. The King would also pay for the voyage across the Atlantic and give them gifts if they married. -
Carignan-Salières
1100 men went over to New France to guard the colony against Iroquois attacks. At the end of their army service, some 600 officers and men chose to stay. The officers were granted seigneuries and the men got farms. They all became farmers. -
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Immigration and birth policies under Jean Talon
Jean Talon, the king's intendant wanted to encourage population growth and put in place many immigration and birth policies. He encouraged allowances for those with large families and penalized those who remain single. Jean Talon's policies were successful and the population of New France doubled because of them. -
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Seven Year War
The Seven Years' War was a global conflict fought between 1756 and 1763. It involved every European great power of the time and spanned five continents, affecting Europe, the Americas, West Africa, India, and the Philippines. The conflict split Europe into two coalitions, led by the Kingdom of Great Britain on one side and the Kingdom of France on the other. -
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The British military rule
New France's territory was occupied by the English, and since the Seven Years war wasn't over, New France was not officially a Birtish colony. -
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The British Regime
From 1760 to Canadian Confederation in 1867, the British ruled Québec. The Royal Proclamation, the Québec Act of 1774 and the Constitutional Act of 1791 all took place under the British regime. -
The Treaty of Paris
Once the Seven Years war was over, The French gave over the territory of New France to the British who changed the name to the Province of Québec. -
The Royal Proclamation
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was used to describe the operations of the new British colony formally ceded by France to Britain in the Treaty of Paris in 1763, following the Seven Years War. The Province of Québec was created and English criminal and civil laws were put in place. -
The Québec Act
Allowed the French civil laws to return. The English criminal laws stayed the same. Seigneurial rights were restored. An Oath to the king replaced the Test Act. The Québec also allowed people to freely practice the Roman Catholic religion. Collection of the tithe was brought back. -
American Independence
July 4th, 1783 the Thirteen British colonies gained their independence and became the United States of America. -
The Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles ended the American-British war of the independence of the thirteen colonies which became the United States of America. Additionally, the size of the Province of Québec was reduced because all terriotires south of the Great Lakes were lost to the United States. -
The Constitutional Act
The province of Québec will be divided into Upper and Lower Canada and the land is divided into townships. -
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The Rebellions in Lower Canada
Two armed uprisings took place in upper and lower Canda during these years because of poor economic and agricultural crises because the British authorities did not grant the political reforms demanded by the Legislative Assembly. -
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The Contemporary period
The Contemporary period covers Canadian confederation to the present day. This year Canada is celebrating its 150th birthday. Today, Canada's population is just over 35 million. -
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Industrialization, urbanization and migration flows
During this time, a second phase of industrialization took place. Big cities developed such as Toronto and Montreal which lead to people moving from the rural areas into the cities. Living conditions during this period were very difficult with people living in tight quarters and city services were unreliable.
