Montreal
The city lies at the foot of Mont Royal, which is the source of its
name and around which extends a large wooded park in the center of the
city. To the south fronting the river is the area of Old Montreal,
which draws visitors to the boardwalk on the site of the Old Port and
to Place Jacques-Cartier, St. Sulpice Seminary (1685), the Château de
Ramezay (1705), and the Gothic Church of Notre Dame (c.1820).
Beginning in the 1960s, following a period of neglect, Old Montreal
underwent extensive renovation and gained commercial, government, and
private tenants. Located in the downtown area is the Place Ville
Marie, an innovative commercial complex built in 1962; around it
stretches the Underground City, which provides protected access, both
above and below street level, to shopping, restaurants, offices, and
other commercial enterprises and to transportation links. Montreal has
a museum of fine arts, a museum of contemporary arts, an environmental
museum and insectarium, and large botanical gardens. An amusement
center and casino occupy the site of Expo '67. The city is the seat of
McGill University, the University of Montreal, the University of
Quebec at Montreal, and Concordia University. The National Hockey
League's hallowed Canadiens, the National League's Expos (now gone to
Washington since 2004), and the Canadian Football League's Alouettes
play in the city.
Montreal has an excellent harbor on the St. Lawrence Seaway, which
connects the city to the great industrial centers of the Great Lakes.
As Canada's most important port, it is a transshipment point for oil,
grain, sugar, machinery, and manufactured goods. It is also an
important railway hub, and has two international airports, Dorval and
Mirabel. Its underground rail system, the Métro, was inaugurated in
1966. The city's industries include pharmaceuticals, high-technology,
steel, electronic equipment, refined petroleum, transportation
equipment, textiles, clothing, food and beverages, printed materials,
and tobacco. It is also a financial service center, which greatly
expanded in the 1980s.
Once Canada's preeminent city, Montreal has been eclipsed by Toronto
as the country's economic center. Tensions over Quebec's insistence on
enforcing its francophone culture have caused an outmigration of
English-speaking people to Ontario and to the growing western
provinces. Despite these changes, Montreal
remains one of North
America's great cosmopolitan cities.
A stockaded Native American village, Hochelaga, was found on the site
(1535) by Cartier , and the island was visited in 1603 by Champlain ,
but it was not settled by the French until 1642, when a band of
priests, nuns, and settlers under Paul de Chomedey, sieur de
Maisonneuve, founded the Ville Marie de Montréal. The settlement grew
to become an important center of the fur trade and the starting point
for the western expeditions of Jolliet, Marquette, La Salle, Vérendrye,
and Duluth. It was fortified in 1725 and remained in French possession
until 1760, when Vaudreuil de Cavagnal surrendered it to British
forces under Amherst. Americans under Richard Montgomery occupied it
briefly (1775-76) during the American Revolution.
The city's growth was aided by the opening in 1825 of the Lachine
Canal, making possible water communications with the Great Lakes. From
1844 to 1849, Montreal was the capital of United Canada. The Canadian
Pacific Railway established its headquarters here in the 1880s.
Montreal held the much-praised international exposition of 1967, known
as Expo '67, and further increased its international stature by
hosting the 1976 Summer Olympics.
Montreal has always struggled with their identity in respect to their
culture. French-speaking Montrealers are worried to lose their
language and heritage. One French-speaking province surrounded by a
larger population of English-speaking individuals may make one feel
intimidated. It is very much appreciated when one tries to blend in
and utter a few words in French.
