Search for "New France"

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Hebron Mission National Historic Site of Canada

For generations, Hebron, one of Nunatsiavut’s (see Labrador Inuit and Newfoundland and Labrador) most culturally important and significant sites, was an important meeting place for the Inuit, as well as a primary hunting and fishing area. In the early 1800s, Moravian missionaries chose the site to establish their fourth and northernmost mission in Labrador, officially opening the mission in 1830 (although missions were later established farther north, at Ramah in 1871 and Killinek in 1905). For more than 130 years, Hebron was a thriving community where an average of 200 to 250 Inuit lived. In 1959, without consultation with the Inuit, the community was closed, forcing all Inuit to relocate. Declared a National Historic Site in 1976 by the federal government, the Hebron Mission has been undergoing major restoration since 2004.

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Nunatsiavut

Nunatsiavut (meaning “our beautiful land” in Inuktitut) is the homeland of the Labrador Inuit (Labradormiut). The territory covers 72,520km2 of land and 44,030km2 of sea in the northern part of the Labrador Peninsula. On 1 December 2005, the Labrador Inuit celebrated the creation of the Nunatsiavut Government, their own regional government within the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Labradormiut became the first Inuit in Canada to achieve self-government. Of the approximately 6,500 beneficiaries, about 2,500 live within the settlement area in five communities: Rigolet, Postville, Makkovik, Hopedale (the legislative capital) and Nain (the administrative capital).

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Moravian Missions in Labrador

In 1771, Moravian missionaries were the first Europeans to settle in Labrador. Over a 133-year period, they established a series of eight missions along the coast which became the focus of religious, social and economic activities for the Inuit who gradually came to settle near the communities. Moravians had a huge impact on the life and culture of Labrador Inuit. What emerged was a unique culture rooted in Inuit traditions with indigenized European practices. The last Moravian missionary left Labrador in 2005, but the Moravian church, its customs and traditions are still very much alive in Labrador.

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Maison Saint-Gabriel

Maison Saint-Gabriel is a museum and historic site that openedin 1966. This 300-year-old building, located in Montréal’s Pointe-Sainte-Charles district, is one of the finest examples of the traditional architecture of New France.

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Battle of the Plains of Abraham

The Battle of the Plains of Abraham (13 September 1759), also known as the Battle of Quebec, was a pivotal moment in the Seven Years’ War and in the history of Canada. A British invasion force led by General James Wolfe defeated French troops under the Marquis de Montcalm, leading to the surrender of Quebec to the British. Both commanding officers died from wounds sustained during the battle. The French never recaptured Quebec and effectively lost control of New France in 1760. At the end of the war in 1763 France surrendered many of its colonial possessions — including Canada — to the British.

(This is the full-length entry about the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. For a plain-language summary, please see Battle of the Plains of Abraham (Plain-Language Summary).)

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Louisbourg

In the 18th century, Louisbourg was a fortified town and an important strategic capital in the French colony of Île Royale (Cape Breton Island). It was the scene of two major military sieges in the Anglo-French wars for supremacy in North America. The fall of Louisbourg to the British in 1758 paved the way for the capture of Québec and the end of French rule in North America. Today, Louisbourg is a national historic site and a popular tourist destination in Cape Breton.

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Fort Duquesne

Fort Duquesne, located at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers at the site of present-day Pittsburgh, Penn, guarded the most important strategic location in the west at the time of the Seven Years' War.

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Canada on D-Day: Juno Beach

Juno Beach was the Allied code name for a 10 km stretch of French coastline assaulted by Canadian soldiers on D-Day, 6 June 1944, during the Second World War. The Canadian Army’s 3rd Infantry Division and 2nd Armoured Brigade seized the beach and its seaside villages while under intense fire from German defenders — an extraordinary example of military skill, reinforced by countless acts of personal courage. The 3rd Infantry Division took heavy casualties in its first wave of attack but took control of the beach by the end of the day. More than 14,000 Canadian soldiers landed or parachuted into France on D-Day. The Royal Canadian Navy contributed 110 warships and 10,000 sailors and the RCAF contributed 15 fighter and fighter-bomber squadrons to the assault. There were 1,074 Canadian casualties, including 359 killed.

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Château Frontenac

Built by Canadian Pacific beginning in 1892, and designed by architect Bruce Price, the Château Frontenac is an excellent example of château-style hotels developed by railway companies in Canada.

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Château Ramezay

Château Ramezay, in Old Montréal, was the first building to be designated a historic monument by the government of Québec, in 1929. Recognized as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1949, it is now a museum with permanent collections and temporary exhibits where visitors can learn about over 500 years of Montréal’s history.

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Teacher's Cove

Teacher's Cove is one of the largest of nearly 100 prehistoric sites discovered in southern New Brunswick's Passamaquoddy Bay region.

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Port of Quebec

Throughout its history, the Port of Quebec has undergone numerous changes reflecting the needs and concerns of the day. From its initial military role under the French regime, the Port of Quebec turned to commerce and transformed radically in the 19th century as a result of the timber trade and immigration. These two new realities had major repercussions on the port’s development, which adapted to accommodate ships of increasingly higher tonnage. With its sizable ocean port, the third largest in North America after New York and New Orleans, Quebec became the primary gateway to Canada for hundreds of thousands of immigrants arriving by sea.

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Lachine Canal

​The Lachine Canal passes through the southwestern part of the island of Montréal, from the Old Port to the borough of Lachine, where it flows into Lake Saint-Louis.