The History of Montreal from 1535 to the present
From trade with the Iroquois Indians to the St Lawrence Seaway
Montreal has been settled for at least 2,500 years according to the architectural evidence that has been found on Montreal island.
The first 2,000 years of Montreal's history was largely controlled by the Iroquois Indians who grew maize along the fertile banks of the St Lawrence river and who called their village 'Hochelaga'. When it was discovered by the Frenchman, Jacques Cartier, in 1535, he said that there were approximately 1,000 Iroquois living there.
Unfortunately for the Iroquois, the Europeans who came to Canada not only brought trade with them, they also brought all their diseases and, by the beginning of the 17th century, another French explorer, Samuel de Champlain, had reported that the Iroquois had completely left the St Lawrence valley. Champlain set up a trading post (mainly for furs) on Montreal island in 1611 but the Iroquois returned and drove out the settlers.
In 1639, a Catholic mission was set up in Ville-Marie (as Montreal had then become known as) with the intention of 'civilizing' and 'evangelizing' the natives. Ville-Marie was officially founded three years later in 1642. The Congrégation de Notre-Dame, Montreal's first school, was established in 1653 by Marguerite Bourgeoys. The French used Ville-Marie as a base for their explorations into the North American hinterland and as a trading post for beaver and other fur.
Unfortunately for the French, the Iroquois did not immediately take to Christianity and the next 48 years were spent in a state of constant war that was so bloody that it even jeopardized the existence of Ville-Marie. Eventually, though, there was a peace treaty (the 'Great Peace of Montreal') and this finally meant that the young city could begin growing.
Peace was not to last long, though. Ville-Marie ceased being a French colony in 1760 when it was surrendered to the British Army commanded by Jeffrey Amherst. Three years later, under the Treaty of Paris, New France was handed over to Britain.
Over the next 70 years, the British immigrants (many of them Scottish), developed and expanded the fur trading business into a major enterprise. With all this wealth, a lot of large houses were built - many in an area called the 'Golden Square Mile' which can be found at the base of Mount Royal.
Montreal first became a city in 1832 from whence it grew rapidly as a result of an influx of French-Canadian and Irish laborers - meaning that the city was growing up to be bilingual with both ethnic groups approximately equal in population. This figure had reached 50,000 by 1852 and, 8 years later, Montreal was the largest city in British North America.
The Victorian influence reached Montreal and this was an era of 'big' projects like the Lachine Canal that allowed ships to circumnavigate the Lachine Rapids and the Victoria Bridge which gave Montreal its chief railway connection.
The post World War 1 years were a mixed bag for Montreal. While it benefited from America's prohibition laws, it also suffered the same chronic unemployment and depression which culminated in the stockmarket crash of 1929. By the mid-1930's Montreal had started to recover and the first of the modern skyscrapers started appearing on the skyline.
The 1950's were another great time of change for Montreal. The then mayor, Jean Drapeau, concerned at the city population having reached the 1,000,000 mark, drew up plans for a new mass transit system (the Metro was not completed until 1966), improvements to the harbor and the opening of a seaway up the St Lawrence. The two tallest skyscrapers (43 and 47 storeys) were built during this decade. An unfortunate casualty of the time was that many old buildings were demolished in the name of progress.
Montreal appeared on the map for many when Expo 67 was launched. This World Fair received over 50,000,000 visitors and still holds the record for most visitors in a day to a single event (569,000 on the third day).
Click pictures to enlarge
The mixture of French and English has always been highly-charged and unrest appeared again in the 1970's when the French majority became restless over the eclipsing of their language and culture by the Anglophone minority. A French separatist party, the Parti Québécois, was elected and Bill 101 passed in which it was decreed that French was the language to be used for all official business and cultural activities and even road signs. This understandably caused a great deal of instability among the Anglophone community who left Montreal in droves in favor of other provinces with less harsh (as they saw it) legislation.
The next 20 years saw Montreal expand economically but not at the same rate as other Canadian conurbations although towards the end of this period confidence had increased sufficiently for investment to take place in two major new skyscrapers - partly as a celebration of the city's 350th anniversary in 1992. Since then the metro system has been extended, many new skyscrapers built and an orbital motorway constructed.
In 2002, Montreal merged with 27 other municipalities on Montreal Island to create a single, unified city. This was a short-lived venture and, two years later, another referendum was passed whereby the municipalities could vote to stay or leave the city. Thirteen municipalities chose to leave and by 2006 there were 14 others left along with Montreal.
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