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Let's start with a little history. Montreal was "discovered" by Jacques Cartier in 1535, he was the
first european to see the island of Montreal from the top of Mont-Royal (he was guided there by the
native americans that lived in the nearby village of Hochelaga). The Ville-Marie colony (now known
as Montreal) was founded officially on the 18th of May 1642 by Jeanne Mance and Paul de
Chomedey Sieur de Maisonneuve.
The british officially took over the french colony of Nouvelle-France in 1763. The americans
occupied Montreal at one occasion (during the revolution for eight months) but came close during
the war of 1812). Montreal was the commercial capital of Canada because of it's port, location and
historical importance. The economical importance of Montreal started to decline after the great
depression and was more noticable around the 1960's. Three more recent and important events are
the World exposition in 1967 (on Ile Notre-Dame), the 1976 Olympics and the 350th anniversary of
Montreal in 1992.
Some recent and important political events : the "revolution tranquille" in the 60's (where the
francophone population drifted from the church and took more control), the 1976 election of the
Parti Quebecois (political party dedicated to the separation of Quebec from Canada) and the 1980
referendum (a majority of the population voted against separation).
Return To Home Page
Let's start with a little history. Montreal was "discovered" by Jacques Cartier in 1535, he was the first european to see the island of Montreal from the top of Mont-Royal (he was guided there by the native americans that lived in the nearby village of Hochelaga). The Ville-Marie colony (now known as Montreal) was founded officially on the 18th of May 1642 by Jeanne Mance and Paul de Chomedey Sieur de Maisonneuve.
The british officially took over the french colony of Nouvelle-France in 1763. The americans occupied Montreal at one occasion (during the revolution for eight months) but came close during the war of 1812). Montreal was the commercial capital of Canada because of it's port, location and historical importance. The economical importance of Montreal started to decline after the great depression and was more noticable around the 1960's. Three more recent and important events are the World exposition in 1967 (on Ile Notre-Dame), the 1976 Olympics and the 350th anniversary of Montreal in 1992.
Some recent and important political events : the "revolution tranquille" in the 60's (where the francophone population drifted from the church and took more control), the 1976 election of the Parti Quebecois (political party dedicated to the separation of Quebec from Canada) and the 1980 referendum (a majority of the population voted against separation).