About This Quiz
European exploration and colonization of the new world began following the arrival of Christopher Columbus. Not wanting to fall behind their rivals in Britain, Spain, and the Netherlands, the French funded numerous expeditions to the newly discovered continent in hopes of establishing a profitable empire. Explorers found North America teeming with rivers, wilderness, indigenous tribes and natural resources. France wanted a piece of the action.
The major French colony in present-day Quebec was known as New France. Between its foundation in the 16th century and its capitulation to the British in 1763, New France became the major enclave of French culture in North America. Today, that culture and history persevere. Approximately 30% of Canadians are French-speaking, with the majority living in the province of Quebec. The rich history of this unique location in North America is filled with warfare, agriculture, trade and peace. Join us on a 500-year journey through Quebec history, going all the way from its foundation to the separatist movements of the 1990s. How much do you know about the First Nation people that lived there, the French explorers who traversed the woods, and the major controversies of the 20th century? Take this quiz and find out!
Samuel de Champlain was one of the most important colonists in the history of New France, founding Quebec City in 1608. He also drafted many maps, explored the interior, and fought against the Iroquois.
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New France's early economic life revolved around the beaver pelt. Before a stable farming industry was established, men would roam the woods in search of beaver pelts, which Europeans used to line their hats.
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Expo 67 was a defining moment for Montreal, taking place over the summer and fall of 1967. The event marked Canada's centennial anniversary and saw over 50 million attendees. The MLB Montreal Expos were named after the event.
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Eager New England colonists saw an opportunity to take on their French counterparts during King William's War. The British colonists rebelled with help of artillery and militia.
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Surprisingly, French was not the official language of Quebec until 1977 and it remains the only province where French is the sole official language. The change followed the Silent Revolution, where French culture went to the forefront of politics.
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The Jesuit Society arrived in New France in 1615, the earliest of any of the groups listed. Jesuits served many functions for the Catholic church, including converting natives, founding universities and fighting.
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Slavery was not officially abolished in Canada until the British passed the Slavery Abolition Act of 1834, which ended slavery in all British dominions. Canada had attempted some of its own anti-slavery measures prior to the law.
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Tensions between the French colonists and the Iroquois had mounted over the 17th century, with repeated French incursions and attacks angering the indigenous people. After Governor General Marquis de Denonville led an attack on the Iroquois, they retaliated, killing many of the inhabitants of the small settlement at Lachine.
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The Montreal Metro is one of the busiest in North America, trailing only New York in ridership per capita. The Metro opened in 1966 before the Montreal Expo and currently contains 68 stations.
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Camillien Houde was an esteemed Quebec politician, serving as an MP and as mayor of Montreal during the first half of the 20th century. During WWII, he urged men to ignore to sign up for the draft and was arrested on charges of sedition.
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A mariner from the French city of Saint-Malo named Jacques Cartier laid claim to Canada for the French when he planted a French flag in the land on the St. Lawrence River. He made three trips across the Atlantic Ocean.
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France found itself on the losing side of the French and Indian War and was forced to cede control of all of its mainland North American colonies to Great Britain in the Treaty of Paris of 1763.
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French explorers discovered that Canada was teeming with beavers and wanted in on the action. The result was a series of conflicts during the 17th century known as the Beaver Wars. They pitted French and their Algonquian allies against the Iroquois Confederacy.
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Prior to national sovereignty, the Province of Canada had its Parliament Buildings in Montreal. Parliament stayed in the St. Anne's Market from 1844 until 1849, when a group of Tories burned it down.
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The 1976 Summer Olympics took place in Montreal, the only Summer Olympics to occur in Canada. The year saw many dramatic events, including Bruce Jenner's decathlon gold medal and complete domination by the East German women's swim team.
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Quebec City is the oldest permanent settlement and was the capital of New France, founded back in 1608. Trois-Rivières, founded in 1634, was the second permanent settlement and Montreal was the third, settled in 1642.
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The Parliament of Canada passed the Clarity Act of 1999 after Quebec had two separation referendums. Even though neither of the polls passed, the Clarity Act set out the terms for secession negotiations at any point in the future.
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Jacques Parizeau and the Parti Quebecois government spearheaded a second vote on independence in 1995. The vote was very close, with the no vote winning with 50.58% of the vote on over 93% voter turnout.
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Quebec is home to many talented artists and musicians, including some of Canada's most famous acts. The Arcade Fire, Celine Dion and Leonard Cohen are all from the province, while Prince is from Minnesota.
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Quebec flew the Union Jack until they adopted the Fleur-de-lis flag. The flag represents France's past involvement on the North American continent. The Fleur-de-lis has origins from the ancient royal flags of France.
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The Battle of Quebec saw the Marquis de Montcalm lose decisively to Maj. Gen James Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham. The battle took place after a three-month-long siege of Quebec City and precipitated the fall of New France.
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French explorer Jacques Cartier discovered a large Iroquoian village on the island of Montreal when he sailed down the St. Lawrence River in 1535. The village had around 3,000 inhabitants and was protected by walled palisades.
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The Parti Québécois is comprised of Péquistes, left-leaning French-Canadians that want to separate from the rest of Canada. They spearheaded two independence referendums, but neither was successful.
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The Jesuits were not in New France long before they established the colony's first university, the Collège de Québec. Today, the college is named St. Charles Garnier College and remains operated by Jesuits.
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The Algonquin and Iroquoian people were tribes within a similar language group and culture that lived in Quebec and other places before European contact. The Seminole people are originally from Florida.
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The Order of the Solar Temple gained international notoriety as a deadly cult after a series of mass-suicides and murders occurred throughout the 1990s, leaving 74 dead across Switzerland, Quebec and France.
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The coeurs de bois were Frenchmen who roamed the American wilderness in search of beaver furs to trade with the indigenous people or bring back to the ports to sell to Europe. They would spend the whole summer season out in the woods.
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The Algonquin referred to the present-day location of Quebec City as Kébec, which means "where the river narrows." This is a reference to the St. Lawrence River narrowing right before the banks of the city.
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René Lévesque founded the Parti Québécois in 1968 intending to establish a sovereign Quebec without the use of extreme tactics. He became the Premier of Quebec in 1976 and was a prominent political figure.
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The Quebec Biker War wreaked carnage across the province from 1994-2004, leaving over 160 dead and many more wounded. The turf war revolved around the sale of drugs, and many bombs and stolen dynamite were the weapons of choice.
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The 1.4km Historic District of Old Quebec is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. The area is complete with cobblestones, stone walls and old buildings that look more European than North American.
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The Quiet Revolution was a series of collective reforms and a political shift towards the secularization and liberalization of government. It minimized the role of the Roman Catholic Church and set the foundation for a welfare state.
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The British had assumed control of Quebec following The French and Indian War. To establish a permanent government that maintained the religious and legal customs of the region, they implemented the Quebec Act of 1774.
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Five of Canada's Prime Ministers are of French-Canadian origins, including the incumbent Justin Trudeau. Brian Mulroney lived in Montreal, though he is an English speaker, and Joe Clark is from Alberta.
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Outside of the three main settlements in New France, land was divided using the Seigneurial system. Landlords presided over a block of land and rented out strips to tenant farmers.
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