Place Information
|
Quebec City or Québec[[Wikipedia:#French and English names for Quebec City|]] (French: Ville de Québec, or simply Québec) is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec. It is the second largest city in the province, after Montreal. Quebec's Old Town (Vieux-Québec), the only North American fortified city north of Mexico whose walls still exist, was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1985 as the "Historic District of Old Quebec". It is also one of the oldest cities in North America. The city has a population of 528,595, and the metropolitan area has a population of 717,600 (2005). Quebec City is known for its Winter Carnival and the Château Frontenac, a historic hotel which dominates the city skyline. The Assemblée nationale du Québec (provincial parliament), the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (National Museum of Fine Arts) and the Museum of Civilization are found within or near Vieux-Québec. Among the tourist attractions in the city are Montmorency Falls and the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in the town of Beaupré.
History
EtymologyThe narrow width of the river as it enters the towns of Quebec and Lévis, on the opposite bank, provided the name given to the city, Kébec being the Algonquin word meaning "where the river narrows". Early history: from Stadacona to Seven Years WarQuebec City is one of the oldest settlements in Canada, only St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Port Royal, Nova Scotia, and Tadoussac, Quebec were created earlier. However Quebec city is the first to have been founded with the explicit goal of receiving permanent settlement and not as a commercial outpost, and therefore is often considered to be the first city in Canada. Quebec was founded by Samuel de Champlain on 3 July 1608 at the site of a long abandoned St. Lawrence Iroquoian settlement called Stadacona. It was to this settlement that the name "Canada" refers. It is the cradle of the Francophone population in North America. The place seemed favourable to the establishment of a permanent colony. Before Champlain, French explorer Jacques Cartier built a fort at the site in 1535, where he stayed for the winter before going back to France in spring 1536. He came back in 1541 with the goal of building a permanent settlement. This first settlement was abandoned less than one year after its foundation, in the summer 1542, due in large part to the hostility of the natives combined with the harsh living conditions during winter. At the end of French rule in 1763, the territory of present-day Quebec City was a world of contrasts. Forests, villages, fields and pastures surrounded the town of 8 000 inhabitants. The town distinguished itself by its monumental architecture, fortifications, muddy and filthy streets, affluent homes of masonry and shacks in the suburbs St-Jean and St-Roch. Despite its urbanity and its status as capital, Quebec City remained a small colonial city with close ties to its rural surroundings. Nearby inhabitants traded their farm surpluses and firewood for imported goods from France at the two city markets. Quebec City was captured by the British in 1759 and held until 1763. It was the site of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham during the Seven Years' War, in which British troops under General James Wolfe defeated the French general Louis-Joseph de Montcalm and took the city. France later ceded New France to Britain.
British ruleDuring the American Revolution, the British garrison at Quebec City was assaulted by American troops in the Battle of Quebec. The defeat of the Americans put an end to their hopes that Canada won't ever rebel. Major General Isaac Brock fortified Quebec City by strengthening the walls and building an elevated artillery battery before the War of 1812. Quebec City was the capital of Canada from 1852 to 1856 and from 1859 to 1865. After the Province of Canada was formed, the capital moved to Kingston and Montreal. When the Dominion of Canada was formed in 1867, the capital was moved to Ottawa. The Quebec Conference on Canadian Confederation was held here. 20th and 21st centuriesIn World War II, two conferences were held in Quebec City. The first one was held in 1943 with Franklin Delano Roosevelt (the United States' president), Winston Churchill (the United Kingdom's prime minister), William Lyon Mackenzie King (Canada's prime minister) and T.V. Soong (China's minister of foreign affairs). The second one was held in 1944, and was attended by Churchill and Roosevelt. They took place in the buildings of the Citadelle and of nearby Château Frontenac. A large part of the D-Day Landings plans were made during those meetings. CapitalThroughout its nearly four hundred years of existence, Quebec City has served as a capital:
It is also the principal city of the Agglomeration of Quebec City, the Greater Quebec City Area, the administrative region of Capitale-Nationale, and the Quebec City Area. Research Tips
|
