A Portrait of Qu ébe c Its History, People and Politics

1. A Portrait of QuébecIts History, People and Politics Frédérick Gagnon Assistant Professor, Political Science, Université du Québec à Montréal Director, Center for U.S. Studies, Raoul Dandurand Chair

2. Source: Government of Canada Web site

3. Why Study Québec? • In 2005, Québec had 7.6 million people • Québec is about 24% of Canada’s population

4. Why Study Québec? • Québec is 83% French speaking / 10% English • Québec is a living, working francophone society (the largest in the Americas)

5. Spoken languages in Canada Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census Profile of Federal Electoral Districts.

6. An ongoing debate

7. French Canadian Emigration to the U.S. (1840-1930) • 1840-1930: 900 000 French Canadians left Canada to emigrate to the United States • This has been largely forgotten by people in Québec but is an important event in our history and in U.S. history

8. According to the 2000 U.S. census: • 13 million Americans claim to have French ancestors (4% of the pop.) • 1,6 million of them speak the French language at home • A large proportion of them have ancestors who emigrated from French Canada during the 19th and 20th century

11. Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) • American novelist, writer, poet, and artist from Lowell (MA) • Born to immigrants Léo-Alcide Kérouac and Gabrielle-Ange Lévesque

12. Kerouac = father Beat movement • Beat writers emphasized a visceral engagement in worldly experiences combined with a quest for deeper spiritual understanding; many of them developed a strong interest in Buddhism • Echoes of the Beat Generation can be seen throughout many other modern subcultures, such as hippies and punks • Kerouac and others inspired the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, etc.

13. First published in 1958 Is a largely autobiographical work that was written as a stream of consciousness creation - based on the spontaneous road trips of Kerouac and his friends across mid-century America

14. Battle of Iwo Jima (Japan - Feb. - March. 1945) Joe Rosenthal photographed five Marines: Ira Hayes, Mike Strank, Franklin Sousley, René Gagnon, Harlon Block, and a U.S. Navy corpsman, John Bradley, raising the U.S. flag atop the 166 meter (546 ft) Mount Suribachi.

15. René Gagnon (1925-1979) • Born in Manchester (NH), the only child of French Canadian immigrants from Saint-Luc, Quebec, Henri Gagnon and Irene Marcotte

16. U.S. Marine Corps Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery Clint Eastwood movie (2006)

21. Her mother, Dorothy Emma Howell, has French Canadian ancestors who immigrated to Nouvelle-France in the 17th Century!!!

22. Plan • A brief history of Québec • A short description of the population of Québec • A quick overview of Québec politics

23. A brief history of Québec

24. It « all » started in 1534 Jacques Cartier (1491-1557) French explorer who landed on the shores of the St. Lawrence River in 1534

26. First Voyage (1534) GASPÉ

27. Second Voyage (1535)

28. Gaspé - July 24, 1534 « Long Live the King of France » Cartier: • Planted a ten-meter cross bearing the words « Long Live the King of France » • Took possession of the territory in the name of France • Called it « Canada » • Canada became a colony of « New France » (other colonies = Acadia, Louisiana and Newfoundland)

29. What was New France? • The area colonized by France in North America during a period extending from the first voyage of Jacques Cartier (1534) to the cession of New France to Spain and Britain in (1763)

30. France expanded its influence in America • Goal: to exploit valuable natural riches • Ex.: Beaver fur, as the European beaver had almost been driven to extinction It was a very hard time for me!

31. Early attempts to establish permanent settlements… Sable Island (1598) Tadoussac (1600) Île-Saint-Croix on Baie François (Bay of Fundy) (1604)

32. Then this man founded Québec city (1608) Samuel de Champlain (1567-1635)

33. …and established a fur trading post on the Island of Montreal (1611)

34. Then this man founded Montreal (1642) Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve (1612-1676)

35. Montreal (1642)

36. Montreal (1680)

37. « Coureurs de bois »(Runner of the woods) • Individuals who engaged in the fur trade without permission from the French authorities • By 1681, France realized the traders had to be controlled so that the industry might remain profitable • Many « coureurs des bois » became « voyageurs »

38. France then began a policy of expansion in an attempt to dominate the fur trade • French influence extended west, north and south • Forts and trading posts were built with the help of explorers, traders and Catholic missionaries • Treaties were negotiated with native groups, and fur trading became very profitable and organized

39. New France (1645)

40. New France at its apogee (1750)

41. But in 1754 • A war between Britain and France began over the control of North America

42. Battle of the Plains of Abraham (1759) Within four years, nearly all of France's possessions in eastern North America would be ceded to Great Britain

43. French Surrender at Montreal 1760

44. France Surrenders to England (Québec)

45. New France at its apogee (1750)

46. New France after the Treaty of Paris (1763)

48. After the Conquest • The British tried to assimilate the 65,000 Canadiens into their own system (that did not work) • Quebec Act (1774) = concessions on language, religion, territory and legal systems

49. Quebec before Quebec Act (1763)

50. Quebec after the Quebec Act (1774)