Foundation of Quebec

Quebec City, capital of the province of Quebec, Canada, is one of the oldest European settlements in North America.

Quebec City was founded by the French explorer and navigator Samuel de Champlain in 1608, commencing a string of French colonies along the St. Lawrence River, creating a region named "le Canada". Prior to the arrival of the French, the location that would become Quebec City was the home of a small Iroquois village called "Stadacona". Jacques Cartier, a French explorer, was the first European to ascend the St. Lawrence Gulf, claiming "le Canada" for France (and the coming addition of a newly founded "l'Acadie" – known today as the Province of Nova Scotia) to create a dominion known as "New France". Jacques Cartier and his crew spent a harsh winter near Stadacona during his second voyage in 1535. The word "Kebec" is an Algonquin word meaning "where the river narrows." By the time Champlain came to this site, the Iroquois population had disappeared and been replaced by Innu and Algonquins. Champlain and his crew built a wooden fort which they called "l'habitation" within only a few days of their arrival. This early fort and trading post exists today as a historic site in Old Quebec. Quebec City's maritime position and the presence of cliffs overlooking the St. Lawrence River made it an important location for economic exchanges between the Amerindians and the French In 1620, Champlain built Fort Saint-Louis on the top of Cape Diamond, near the present location of the Chateau Frontenac in the Upper Town. Quebec City's 400th anniversary was celebrated in 2008 and it is the oldest city in North America that has a French-speaking community.

After the settlement of Port Royal in Acadia (1605), the next colonization effort by the French occurred in 1608. Samuel de Champlain built "l'Habitation" to house 28 people. However, the first winter proved formidable, and 20 of 28 men died. By 1615, the first four missionaries arrived in Quebec. Among the first successful French settlers were Marie Rollet and her husband, Louis Hebert, credited as "les premier agriculteurs du Canada" by 1617. The first French child born in Quebec was Helene Desportes, in 1620, to Pierre Desportes and Francoise Langlois, whose father was a member of the Hundred Associates. The population of Quebec City arrived at 100 in 1627, less than a dozen of whom were women. However, with the invasion of Quebec by David Kirke and his brothers in 1628, Champlain returned to France with approximately 60 out of 80 settlers.

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