Introduction to History of Quebec
The region that is now Quebec was occupied by prehistoric Indians as early as 10,000 years ago, and was continuously inhabited by various nomadic tribes. Archeological evidence indicates that there was a Viking settlement on the Ungava Peninsula in the 12th century. The French arrived in the 16th century, and they found throughout hat is now Quebec scattered groups of Algonquin-speaking people, chiefly the Algonquin and Montagnais Indians.
Important dates in Quebec1534 Jacques Cartier reached the Gulf of St. Lawrence and claimed the Quebec region for France.1608 Samuel de Champlain established Quebec City, the first permanent European settlement in Canada.1663 King Louis XIV of France made the Quebec region a royal province.1759 The British captured Quebec City during the French and Indian War.1763 Britain acquired Quebec by the Treaty of Paris.1774 The British Parliament approved the Quebec Act, extending Quebec's borders and establishing French-Canadian political and religious rights.1791 The Constitutional Act divided Quebec into the colonies of Upper Canada and Lower Canada.1841 The Act of Union joined Upper Canada and Lower Canada under one government.1867 The British North America Act created the Dominion of Canada, forming the province of Quebec.1912 Quebec nearly doubled in size by acquiring territory east of Hudson Bay.1927 The British Privy Council set the present Quebec-Labrador boundary.1963 The provincial government bought all privately owned electric power companies.1967 Expo 67, a world's fair, was held in Montreal as part of Canada's centennial celebration.1974 The Quebec legislature made French the only official language of the province.1976-1985 The Parti Quebecois, a separatist political party, controlled the provincial legislature.1990 The Meech Lake accord, a constitutional amendment that would have recognized Quebec as a distinct society, failed to pass all 10 provincial legislatures.1995 Quebec voters narrowly rejected a referendum proposal that called for independence for Quebec.The New France Period
Jacques Cartier discovered the St. Lawrence River in 1534, and in 1535 visited the Indian villages of Stadacona (site of Quebec City) and Hochelaga (Montreal). However it was not until 1608 that another French explorer, Samuel de Champlain, established the settlement named Quebec. One of the first permanent settlements in Canada, Quebec became the base from which the French built New France, a vast colonial empire that extended to the Gulf of Mexico.
At first the French were interested in New France only as a source of furs. Champlain, however, envisioned the creation of communities modeled on those in France. He hoped for settlers who would cultivate the land and thus lay the foundation for true colonies. Champlain’s hopes were realized only slowly. After nearly 20 years, Quebec had fewer than 100 French inhabitants.
In 1627 Cardinal Richelieu, Louis XIII’s chief minister of state, helped form the Company of 100 Associates, which agreed to bring 4,000 settlers in 15 years. This program was interrupted in 1629, however, when Quebec was captured by the English. They held it until Richelieu persuaded England to restore Quebec to France in 1632 as part of a general treaty between the two nations. Trois-Rivieres was founded in 1634. When Champlain died in 1635, there were fewer than 2,500 French persons in all New France. Montreal was established in 1642, but for many years was no more than a trading station.
After New France became a royal colony in 1663, there was great territorial growth, with the colony stretching from Acadia (Nova Scotia) westward to Lake Superior and down the Mississippi valley to the Gulf of Mexico. Quebec City was the capital. The colony operated under French laws and customs, with the Roman Catholic Church holding important rights and powers.
A semi-feudal land system was introduced in the St. Lawrence valley. Large tracts were granted to a few persons called seigneurs. The seigneurs in turn granted smaller tracts to settlers who paid annual dues in money or produce. This land system continued in the province until 1854. A governor, an intendant (superintendent of financial and related matters), and a sovereign council governed New France. All were appointed by the king. The bishop of Quebec, who was the primate of New France, was a member of the sovereign council.
Rivalry between British and French settlers and traders in North America resulted in the French and Indian war, which became part of a general European conflict, the Seven Years’ War. In 1759 British forces under General James Wolfe defeated French forces under General Montcalm and Quebec fell to the British. Montreal surrendered to the British soon after. By the Treaty of Paris in 1763, France ceded all of New France to Great Britain.
The Early British Period
The Province of Quebec was established by Great Britain in 1763. It was smaller than the present province-except for a part extending into Labrador, it was bounded on the north by a line between Lakes Nipissing and St. John. On the south, the boundary ran eastward from the northern tip of Lake Huron to New England. By the Quebec Act of 1774, Great Britain vastly expanded Quebec by including in it all land in North America between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River to the Ohio River.
By the peace treaty that followed the American Revolution, Great Britain ceded to the United States the land in the province of Quebec below the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes. During and after the Revolution, the upper (or western) part of the province began to be settled by English-speaking persons. Many of these settlers were from colonies that became the United States. They had opposed the revolution and were called Loyalists. To give them a separate government, the British Parliament adopted the Constitutional Act of 1791. This act divided the province into Upper Canada (what is now southern Ontario) and Lower Canada.
Toward Confederation
Lower Canada in 1791 was given an elected legislative assembly, but the assembly lacked authority in important matters. The appointed governor and an executive council could act against the assembly’s wishes. In 1837, a year of economic depression, rebellion came to Lower Canada. It was largely inspired by Louis Joseph Papineau, who wished to establish an independent nation. The rebellion was quickly suppressed, as was a similar outbreak in Upper Canada. The Earl of Durham investigated the causes of the discontent that led to the outbreaks and issued a report recommending the greater self-government. As a result, the British Parliament adopted the Act of Union of 1841, united the Canadas into the single Province of Canada with an assembly to which the executive council became responsible. Lower Canada was renamed Canada East. Upper Canada was called Canada West.
The united province failed to solve many problems, including those resulting from rivalry between French-speaking and English-speaking Canadians. The economic development of British North America, and fears that the United States might seek to annex part of all of it, caused leaders of Canada East to see the desirability of an expanded union on the principle of confederation of separate states. In 1867 the British Parliament passed the British North America Act to establish the Dominion of Canada as a confederation.
On July 1, 1867, Canada East and Canada West again became separate provinces, but as members of a confederation along with Nova Scotia and New Bruswick. Canada East became the province of Quebec, and Canada West became Ontario.
Modern Quebec
The area of Quebec was doubled in 1912 when its northern boundary was extended to Hudson Bay and to the Hudson Strait. In 1927, Quebec yielded to Newfoundland some 100,000 acres (400km) of land in Labrador.
Quebec suffered severely in the economic depression of the 1930’s, but the next decades brought great industrial progress. Increases in manufacturing, mining, and hydroelectric development were especially marked. A major milestone was the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959.
Because of its French background, Quebec often differed politically from the other provinces. During both world wars it opposed conscription. By the mid-20th century feeling was strong that Canada was unduly dominated by the English-speaking majority and that French culture could be preserved only if Quebec broke away from the rest of Canada. In 1963 separatist extremists resorted to terrorism. Moderate Quebecers demanded more recognition and more autonomy, rather than a separation. In 1968 Pierre Trudeau, a native of Quebec, became prime minister of Canada and promised full equality for the French-speaking Canadians.
Dissatisfaction grew, in spite of the conciliation efforts by the federal government. There were terrorist incidents following the defeat of separatist candidates in the 1970 provincial elections. Tensions were further aggravated when French was made the official language of Quebec in 1974, angering the non-French minority. In 1976 the parti Quebecois, which sought separation from Canada, won a surprise victory in the provincial elections. In 1980, however, the voters rejected separatism in a referendum, and in the 1985 elections they turned the party out of power. Separatist sentiment again rose in the 1990’s after the federal government failed to satisfy Quebec’s demand for special constitutional status. In 1994, the Parti Quebecois was returned to power. In 1995 it sponsored a new referendum on separation that narrowly failed to pass. Premier Jacques Parizeau resigned and was replaced in 1996 by Lucien Bouchard, head of the Bloc Quebecois in the federal parliament. Bouchard resigned in 2001, and was succeed by Bernard Landry. In 2003, the Bloc Quebecois lost power to the Liberal Party, and Jean Charest became premier.