Quebec City Turns 400

Quebec City: from founding to future

Story by Ceilidh Clark
Photos contributed by Sally Hale

In 1608, Samuel De Champlain founded the first permanent French settlement in Canada and named it Quebec, which means "where the river narrows." Established as a strategic military outpost, Quebec City was founded on a distinct French culture and was a central outpost for the fur trade in North America.  

Four hundred years later, Quebec City still remains. 

The beginning of 2008 marked the 400th anniversary of Quebec City, a notable benchmark for any civilization. Even more remarkable is that the city has endured the test of time while managing to hold on to the principles it was founded on. In addition to maintaining a relationship with Native Americans, the people of the city were put to the test, historians say, when they were conquered by the British.

"In 1759, Britain defeated the French and captured Quebec. Since then, there has been a constant struggle to keep their language viable in a sea of English," Matthew Smith, adjunct lecturer in Canadian Studies at Plattsburgh State University, says. Even though Quebecois were under British rule, they retained their civil law and their religious affiliation to the Catholic Church, Smith adds.

"There are tensions within Canada, because Quebec has talked about having a different status (from the rest of the country)."

The province of Quebec has had two referendums to gain sovereignty; one in 1980 and one in 1995 to gain sovereignty. In the 1995 referendum, Quebec lost by one percentage point on the vote to gain independence, Mark Richard, associate professor of History and Canadian Studies at Plattsburgh State University says.

"There are tensions within Canada, because Quebec has talked about having a different status (from the rest of the country)," Richard says. Indeed, with these measures, the Quebecois have shown their desire to be regarded as a distinct society.

There is an inscription on Quebec license plates which offers a strong remembrance to their history: "Je Me Souviens," or in English, "I remember."

"It means, 'I remember the heritage, conquest, culture, and history,'" Richard says. In 1977, Quebec passed a law, Bill 101, which made French the official language of the Province. 

"Whenever you are in the Province, you will see signage in French. English is [written] much smaller," Richard says. Indeed, education in Quebec, as well as Quebec City, has been the responsibility of the Catholic Church from the beginning of the French regime until 1964. "Quebec has always had Catholic and Protestant school systems, (making it) linguistically divided," Smith says. 

"(Quebec) had to change the system from a religious basis to a linguistic basis."

Today, Quebec encourages immigration from French speaking countries, Smith says. Due to Provincial law, all immigrants to Quebec must attend French speaking schools. Because more Muslim immigrants started coming from French speaking countries in North Africa, Quebec "had to change the system from a religious basis to a linguistic basis," Smith says.

In honor of its 400th anniversary, Quebec City is celebrating with a year-long calendar of events. The celebrations started in January of 2008 and are planned for the whole year, with an emphasis on the summer months. Quebec City has become a destination for tourists of French, American, and Canadian decent as well as a "proper destination for French people from France," Marie Cusson, assistant professor of Canadian Studies at Plattsburgh State University, and resident of Quebec says. Summer tourism will likely increase in light of the anniversary.

"People in the city of Quebec are preoccupied with the preservation of their French roots, and the language and traditions, Cusson says. Perhaps the rest of Canada sees Quebec simply as just another province, Cusson adds, but Quebecios are proud of their individuality.

This constant fight for identity has been passed down through generations, historians say, and punctuates the determination of a people focused on autonomy.

Indeed, the celebrations of Quebec City seem a proud statement from the people that their culture has survived, and that they will continue to remain independent in the future.

What’s your favorite memory of Quebec City?