First Nations, French and British settlers: Quebec history

History is written by the conquerors, but also by the explorers and the curious. Come with me as we explore the web of stories, wars, cultures and discoveries that tell the story of Quebec's origins.

Château de Frontenac from Quebec City lower town

Discoveries at the heart of one of the first nations, Huron-Wendat

I begin this story with my visit to the Huron-Wendat Museum, located in Wendake, a small enclave northwest of Quebec City. It's a native reserve where Huron-Wendat culture and tradition continue to live on in the midst of the modern metropolis.

A leap into the past at the Huron-Wendat Museum

Inside the museum, you'll find delicately carved tools, elaborately crafted clothing, and summer and winter boats. Each piece bears witness to the adaptability and innovation of this once dominant tribe of the region.

I also discovered the longhouse, a life-size reconstruction of their traditional home. With its three central fireplaces, this space served as a living room, food pantry, storehouse and bedroom for members of the community. If you're interested in this museum, I recommend the guided tour.

Hurons-Wendat longhouse

In the evening, legends and stories of the Wendake people are told to visitors. They were recounted to me by a native Innu, around the house's central fire, in a warm and welcoming atmosphere. These stories, transmitted orally, are living proof of the cultural richness of a people who didn't yet know how to write. The Innu storyteller present on the evening of my visit also publishes podcasts on the culture of his people.

From cohabitation to tragedy

Before the arrival of Europeans, the Huron-Wendat were half-sedentary farmers and hunters in what is now Quebec. With the arrival of Europeans in the early 17th century, they began to trade, exchanging furs for tools and weapons.

Cervid skull adorned with stitching and bone by Huron-Wendat people

Yet they suffered two tragedies. One was wars with another native people, the Iroquois; the other was diseases introduced by the settlers, against which the Huron-Wendat had no immunity. Their population dropped by 90%, from 3,000 to 300. They took refuge near Quebec City, where they remain to this day.

A broader perspective at the Civilization Museum

For those interested in discovering more, the Civilization Museum in Quebec City offers a rich exhibition on the region's native peoples, including the Inuit, Abenaki, Algonquin and many others. More than just objects on display and numerous demonstrative videos, it's an invitation to understand the ancestral techniques, beliefs and way of life of each nation.

Maps from the museum showing the distribution of First Nations in Quebec

You'll also find other exhibits, such as one on René Lévesque, an emblematic Quebec minister. This brings us to the next section, Quebec and its history.

How was Quebec City born?

When I visited Quebec City, I had the opportunity to take a guided tour, in English, of the old town to discover its history. You can find guided tours on AirB&B Experience. Our guide Xavier Chambolle, who offers a variety of tours (in English or French), shared fascinating stories in the nooks and crannies of Old Quebec.

Our guide Xavier Chamboll in front of the Louis Hébert monument, one of the first settlers in New France

New France was born in 1534, when explorer Jacques Cartier established a built a cross at Gaspé. A trading-post-colony was then created in Quebec City. I'm sharing with you our guide's "60s" mnemonic rule for remembering some of the major events in Quebec's history.

1660: King's girls

In the midst of its expansion, New France was struggling to populate its colonies. King Louis XIV financed the travel and dowry of young women to facilitate their settlement and the formation of new families. Today, they are considered pioneers of modern Quebec.

1760: The British conquest

The Seven Years' War (1756-1763) between France and Great Britain was a major conflict in Canadian history. The Battle of the Plains of Abraham was a decisive moment in this war. In the space of a few hours, this confrontation between the French and British armies sealed the fate of New France, which was ceded to the British Crown. Today, the Plains of Abraham is a huge park open to the public (even cross-country skiing in winter).

Martello Towers No. 1 on the Plains of Abraham, built by the British in the 19th century

1860: Industrialization

Industrialization and trade have led to major economic growth in Quebec. Cities such as Quebec City and Montreal became major economic centers, attracting immigrants and investment thanks to their ports. One of the key sectors of this industrialization was wood processing, particularly papermaking. And you'll remember the Pulperie de Chicoutimi, where paper was produced! Founded in 1896, the Pulperie of Chicoutimi operated as a pulp mill for nearly three decades, making a significant contribution to the local economy and to the industrialization of the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region. Today, it is a museum and park.

One of the buildings alongside the river in Parc de la Pulperie

At the same time, the founding of Canada began, with the grouping of three British colonies under a single political entity. Other provinces were added over the years to form the Canada we know today.

1960: The Quiet Revolution and the sovereignist movement

The Quiet Revolution marked a socio-economic and cultural transformation in Quebec. The government implemented numerous reforms in education and health care, and nationalized the electricity companies (with the creation of Hydro-Québec). During this period, the idea of Quebec sovereignty gained in popularity, leading to the founding of the Parti Québécois in 1968 by René Lévesque.

These four periods of the "rule of the 60s" were significant in the formation of modern Quebec, telling a rich and complex story, with events that left a lasting imprint on the province.

When natives meet trappers

In the rolling landscape of Thunder Bay, stands a place that seems to be stuck in the past: Fort William Historical Park. But contrary to what its name might suggest, it was neither a military fort nor a town in the strict sense of the word.

Native tents set up around the fort

The hive of trade

To enter Fort William is to step back in time to the days of the fur trade in 1815. This restored site was once a major trading center between natives and European settlers. I visited the fort, and like every summer, 200 historical re-enactors, natives and actors in period costumes, were present to give an idea of the fort's heyday in the 1800s. In native camps and fort buildings, they brought history to life, passionately recounting the functions of each building, and the events that took place there.

Wigwams (tents with an external structure, made of birch bark)

The aim was to recreate "The Great Rendezvous" which took place there every year. Thousands of traders and trappers from the most remote regions met to trade furs. Natives brought beaver pelts and other wild animals valuable to Europeans. In exchange, they received manufactured goods, such as blankets, much coveted by the natives, tools and many other objects produced by the European colonies. It was a place of trade, but also of cultural encounters, where two worlds came together.

Voyageurs, ambassadors of trade

But who were these men who transported goods across the vast Canadian territories? The "voyageurs" were intrepid traders, adventurers of commerce, criss-crossing rivers and lakes, braving the dangers of nature to exchange the products of the colonists for those of the natives. Their role was essential in this chain of exchanges, connecting the native and colonial worlds.

Fort William Historical Park is a precious witness to a bygone era, when the first commercial interactions between natives and settlers laid the foundations for a modern, diversified Canada.

Various buildings in the fort (bedroom, warehouse, doctor, antique shop, restaurant)

PS: If you're passing through, there's a campsite within the park itself.