Scots-Quebecer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Scotch-Quebecer)
Jump to: navigation, search
 This article does not cite any references or sources. (February 2007)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.
Quebecers of Scottish descent
Notable Scots-Quebecers:
'John Redpath' 'James McGill'
Flag of Scotland Flag of Canada
Total population

Scots-Quebecers
~100,000
1.4% of Quebec's Population
Regions with significant populations
Montreal, Quebec City, Eastern Townships
Language(s)
English, French, (formerly) Gaelic
Religion(s)
Protestant (Anglican, Baptist, Presbyterian, United Church of Canada), Roman Catholic
Related ethnic groups
Scottish, Scottish Canadians, Ulster Scots, English-speaking Quebecer


The Scot-Quebecers (French language: Écossais-Québécois), were pioneer settlers who emigrated from their native Scotland to Quebec in British North America beginning in the late 1700s.

Contents

Few Scots came to Quebec (then New France) before the Seven Years War.[1] Those who did blended in with the French population. Perhaps the first Scot to settle was Abraham Martin dit l'Écossois, who by 1800 had 7765 married descendants among the French-speaking population.[2]

In 1763, the French population of Quebec was approximately 55,000 when France handed it over to Great Britain under the terms of the Treaty of Paris (1763) that ended the French and Indian War.

By the beginning of the 19th century, the Quebec population was expanding slowly as immigration began from Great Britain. Impoverished Scottish immigrants, many the victim of the Highland and Lowland Clearances, saw unlimited opportunity in this huge forested land. However, the bond between Scotland and France also extended to numerous other areas such as the Gens d’Armes Ecossais (Scots Men-At-Arms) who guarded the kings of France for nearly three hundred years. Today in France there are many descendants of these Scots who have lived there for centuries. They carry names such as Campbell and MacDonald, the most famous of the latter being Étienne Macdonald, Marshal of France. As such, after France gave Quebec to the British in the Treaty of Paris (1763), the Battle of Culloden was still imprinted in the minds of the many Highlanders (there were actually more Scots fighting on the pro-monarch side at this battle) who readily chose to settle in French-speaking Quebec.

Some of these Scottish immigrants settled in Quebec City but many with an entrepreneurial drive kept moving west to Montreal which at the time was little more than a small port town on the St. Lawrence River. By far the majority of the Scots arrived in Quebec with little more than the shirt on their back. Personal sacrifice, hard work, and determination was their greatest asset. Examples of this can be seen in people such as John Redpath who had only enough money for ships passage to Quebec City and who then walked all the way to Montreal.

In 1779, Scotsman Simon McTavish helped establish what would become the North West Company to compete in the fur trade with the English owned giant, the Hudson's Bay Company. Since 1670, the Hudson's Bay Company had been operating an unchallenged monopoly in the massive territory in the northwest known as Rupert's Land comprising nearly half of what is now Canada. In the process, McTavish became the most important businessman in all of Canada during the second half of the 18th century.

By the first decade of the 1800s, Montreal had grown to around 9,000 inhabitants and the Scottish immigrants who chose to make Montreal their home soon began to play a key role in the city's cultural, scientific, and business life. Although at their peak, the Scots made up only a small percentage of Quebec's population, they had an impact on the city of Montreal and the Province of Quebec far beyond their numbers. Starting from an almost non-existent economic base, they were instrumental in improving the Province's commercial prospects by exploiting an untapped hinterland. They transformed the small fortified town into the business hub for much of the St Lawrence basin and worked to enhance the Province's economic power. Scots led a wave of immigrants seeking a better life that saw Montreal's population grow from 9,000 in 1800 to 50,000 by the year 1850.

Other Scots were instrumental in building the Lachine Canal that turned Montreal into one of the most important and prosperous ports in North America. The canal led to a rapid industrialization that began in the late 1840s with Montreal manufacturers producing products for the entire nation. It was also Scots who constructed Montreal's first bridge across the Saint Lawrence River and Henry Morgan built the first department store in Canada that was the envy of the country. Scot settlers founded many of the city's great industries including the Bank of Montreal, Redpath Sugar, and from headquarters they established in Montreal, Scots were the driving force that built both of Canada's national railroads. Early on they realized the importance for the mercantile community to create the institutions and instruments that enabled business to be the catalyst for improved standards of living for all its citizens. Because of their work and vision, by 1860 they were greatly responsible for making Montreal the most important city in British North America.

Noted for their willingness to help fellow Scots succeed in the new world, they are also remembered for giving back to the country that had provided them with the opportunity to prosper. Scots established and funded numerous Montreal institutions such as McGill University, the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec and the Royal Victoria Hospital.

A few of these Scots and their offspring who were major factors in building Montreal and the Province of Quebec into the economic hub of Canada are:

 Quebec Portal
Scotland Portal
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scots-Quebecer"
Advanced Search
Included Web Search Engines


Safe Search

close

Top Matching Results

Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

Sponsored Links

This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

Search Results

Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.