- Montreal History -
a quick walk through Montreal history

There's More Than One History of Montreal.
A personal Montreal history: 1950s to the Present.
Plus the history of Montreal, linked to
Quebec, Canda and also American history.

Some people would say there are as many histories of Montreal
as people in Montreal.

I see at least 4 main histories of Montreal.

* The history of Montreal (or of what is now Montreal),
during the perhaps 8000 years of human habitation
before the arrival of whites.

* The creation and deveopment of the city of Montreal,
from the arrival of the first whites.

* The history of Montreal
from a repressive, very religious city in the 1950's,
to the vibrant cosmopolitan city of the present;

* And then, the millions of years predating human arrival -
Ice Ages, geological eras, the coming and going of glaciers
all the way back to the dinosaurs.

**

I will only cover the most recent 2 periods of the history of Montreal.

I learned one history in school. I lived the most recent period.

**

The history I got in school, growing up in Montreal:
Montreal from the coming of Jacques Cartier, a French explorer, in 1535,
and then Samuel de Champlain, another French explorer, about 70 years later.
I will get back to that history of Montreal.

For masses of detail on the history of Montreal,
here is the link to Wikipedia.
In school, so many names were drilled into me,
over and over - and yet very little stayed.
But I will give you an overview.

**
I'm going to start, though, with a bit of the Montreal history
I've lived over the past half century ,
from my arrival as a young child.
My family came to a city
* where religion was prominent and repressive,
* where the political system dictated no divorce,
* where the dominant Catholic religion dictated no birth control,
* where there was a sharp division between Catholics and all others,
* where there was widespread religious discrimination
(especially against Jews - No Jews signs
were openly displayed in apartment buildings),
* and where there was an open quota system for
women and Jews wanting to get into, for instance,
McGill's school of medicine.

On top of all that, to the further consternation of my parents,
there were no outdoor cafes, no little bistros
where people would go for an outing.
In fact, it was illegal to have an outdoor eating place.
Even more, the taverns were for men only.
(Women were allowed in restaurants!)

There was also huge wage discrimination -
with women earning perhaps half of what men earned
doing the same thing - if they could get the job at all.

That is not Montreal now.
Hundreds of sidewalk cafes.
Equal pay (more or less) for equal work.
More women than men studying medicine.
Empty churches.

For that whole history of the changes over the past half century,
click here for Montreal, Europe without the Jetlag.

**

Then, here is the traditional history of Montreal,
from further in the past.

In the St Laurent area, at the time of the arrival of the first whites,
were the Hurons and Iroquois. Various aboriginal groups
had lived along the St Laurent River for perhaps 8000 years.
So along with the history of the coming of whites,
is another Montreal history - the history of the displacement of
the aboriginal peoples, their marginalization onto reserves,
the devaluation of their religion and traditions and languages.

The head of the first group of whites: Jacques Cartier, from France, in 1535.
We learned in school that he put a cross on the top of the mountain -
and that is, we learned, why a cross is there to this day.
And that was it for 70 years.

Next: Samuel de Champlain, also from France.

Soon, two big things: the fur trade and settlers along the St Laurent River.

he next big thing, a battle outside what is now Quebec City.
The date: 1760. The place: the plains of Abraham.
The leaders of both sides, English and French, were fatally wounded.
The outcome: the French surrendered. The English got control of the area.
English settlement started, but the French were allowed to keep
their religion and language. The fur trade expanded.

Another big thing: the American Revolution, quite close in time,
which led to the arrival of masses of Loyalists,
those loyal to Britain.

The next huge wave of immigration came about a century later -
with the famine in Ireland, which claimed over a million lives.
Death by starvation, in large part because England did not send food
when the potato harvest utterly failed.
Another million people left.
Thousands died on a small island off Quebec City -
so close to another chance at life.

Montreal was incorporated in 1832.

Canada came into being in 1867.
Upper Canada (Ontario), Lower Canada (Quebec),
along with some Atlantic provinces.

Change after change after change.
Automobiles. World War 1. Factories. Prohibition.
The Depression. World War II.

Montreal kept growing.

And then another huge change,
not in the form of immigration or war or depression ...
but a change in ideology. A sharp development in Montreal history,
as dramatic as what happened on the Plains of Abraham.
The Catholic Church, which had stood like a fortress,
in large part crumbled with what is called, in Quebec,
the Quiet Revolution.

Suddenly - it felt like ovenight, the religion fervor was largely gone.
Birth control. Legal abortions. Divorce.
Women's rights in a thousand ways,
like to credit in their own name even if married.

There was another huge shift.
Instead of religious fervor,
there was a huge movement for the separation of Quebec from Canada,
an outcry against historic and current discrimination
against the French language and against French Canadians ...
and new laws limiting access to English education,
prohibiting English store signs, and so on -
in short, many laws limiting English ...
and the consequent massive exodus of
English speaking people from Quebec.

Now the fervor has gone for many.
There is much more easy contact between
francophones, anglophones and allophones (the latter being those
whose mother tongue is neither French nor English).

Immigration has continued, wave after wave.
After World War II, millions from Europe to North America.
In the late sixties and early seventies, American draft dodgers.
Then, people from the Caribbean, and on and on.
Boat people from Vietnam.
Muslims from many Arab countries.
And on and on.

By and large, people live together well in Montreal.
There has been a large province-wide enquiry about
what is reasonable accommodation.
A good question when borders are opened to outsiders.
What is reasonable? What is unreasonable?
What is moral? What violates Canada's ethical standards?

It's an evolving situation.
Visitors come to a vibrant cosmopolitan city,
where there is widespread tolerance and even acceptance of diversity -
like Montreal's well-known Gay Village.

It's a far distance from the 1950's.
So much keeps needing to be addressed
in the ongoing development of this
diverse, multi-ethnic city.

And that's it for this short history of the city Montreal.
Again, for a much more detailed account of Montreal history,
a great source is Wikipedia.



And then, for Montreal vacation rentals -
from budget apartments
to luxury condos,
click here.

For much more on the recent Montreal history,
click here for Montreal - Europe without the Jetlag.

For Montreal tourist information, click here.

Click here for information on Provence,
another wonderful part of the world.

Philippe and Elsa

Montreal Vacation Rentals Plus
Montreal furnished short term condos and lofts,
Montreal executive accommodation

plus ...
Paris apartment rentals,
Provence villa rentals,
and Quebec chalet rentals

To stay in touch - updates, articles, info, plus

To receive updates, please fill in your email address. Please note that fields followed by an asterisk must be filled in. email address* email address* repeat email address* repeat email address*