History of Montreal, Quebec Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jacques Cartier

The area that is now Montreal had long been settled by Iroquois from around the Great Lakes Region. Upon his first visit, Jacques Cartier visited several fortified villages; the largest was named Hochelaga. When Samuel de Champlain tried to visit Hochelaga many years later, he found nothing.

It has since been theorized that the people Cartier met were defeated by other tribes by the time Champlain arrived in 1605.

Answer: The Mohawks had reclaimed Place Royal, which was their hunting grounds.

The Mohawk, a native tribe believed to have been responsible for the disappearance of Hochelaga, used Place Royal as a new hunting ground. The Mohawk had originally lived in New York state but steadily moved north into Canada. The Mohawk were able to maintain control of the land and the trading post shut down.

Answer: Fort Ville-Marie

It was so named after the Virgin Mary as many of the settlers were missionaries for the Roman Catholic Church in France. Among Montreal's founders was Jeanne Mance, a French nurse and missionary. She later founded Canada's first hospital, Hotel-Dieu.

She was buried in a church on the hospital grounds, but the church was later destroyed for renovations and the hospital has since changed locations.

Answer: Starting a fire that destroyed part of Montreal

The fire occurred on the evening of April 10, 1734 when strong winds that made the fire nearly impossible to stop. It destroyed dozens of homes, buildings and the Hotel-Dieu. Although no one saw her start the fire and there was no proof of her guilt, Marie-Joseph Angélique was sentenced to death.

She was hanged, then her body was burnt. For centuries afterward, it was commonly believed that Angelique did start the fire. However, since the mid 20th century, historians increasingly began to believe in her innocence.

There is no current conclusive evidence to prove or disprove her innocence.

Answer: True

France had previously lost most of New France east of the Mississippi River to Britain. Spain received Louisiana. France only held the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon and Montreal. However, the French eventually surrendered Montreal when General Amherst surrounded the city. France did not want Montreal destroyed, so they gave it up.

In 1774, the British Parliament enacted the Quebec Act, which allowed the Quebec province to maintain its French culture, which today can still be seen in contrast to the more English-like Canadian provinces.

Answer: Lachine Canal

It was named after the Lachine borough of Montreal, which itself named after China, since the original French settlers had hoped to find a route to China via Canada. Prior to the canal's opening, Montreal was not heavily populated compared to other Canadian cities.

Afterward, the population increased as did the shipping and banking industries. It also became a source for hydraulic power in the region. The Lachine Canal closed in 1970 as new methods of transportation emerged. In 2002, it reopened as a recreational area.

Answer: The Parliament Buildings

Although there were several reasons for the burning of the Parliament Buildings, the most important was the passing of the Rebellion Losses Bill, which had used taxpayer money to compensate Lower Canadians for property and money they lost in the 1837 riots. Upper Canadians had already been compensated for their losses, but strongly opposed this bill. When it received the Royal Assent in 1849, riots broke out. How the fire stared is unclear. It may have been intentionally started by Alfred Perry, Montreal's fire marshal, or by accident from the torches rioters were throwing. This riot is often compared to the Boston Tea Party in the United States.

In the aftermath, the St. Anne's Market Building was completely destroyed. Most of the Parliament's archives and libraries were burned down, except for a handful of books and portrait of Queen Victoria. The capital was soon moved out of Montreal to Toronto before it was permanently located in Ottawa.

Answer: Guibord had to be buried in the cemetery.

The case reopened the discussion of the separation church and state within Montreal and Quebec as a whole. Many people felt that the church could deny the burial since they do not have to accept people they disagree with. Others felt that Guibord should have been allowed to be buried because he was Roman Catholic and that political disagreements were petty reasons to refuse the burial. Ultimately, the Judicial Committee sided with Guibord's widow and ordered him to be buried in the Roman Catholic cemetery, though they did not have to provide a religious funeral. Because of the fear of riots and protestors, the funeral was conducted under military escort.

Answer: He advocated against conscription.

Houde was very anti-draft and encouraged the men of Montreal to disregard their conscription registration notices. Houde was then arrested by the mounted police for sedition and undermining the war efforts. He spent about four years in various interment camps until his release in 1944.

When he returned to Montreal, he was elected mayor again and served until 1954. It should be noted that conscription was only in effect for a short while in 1944 after Houde was imprisoned and hardly any Canadian conscripts saw war action as World War II was winding down.

Answer: The only other candidates were Moscow and Los Angeles.

The IOC had rejected or not selected bids from either the United States or the Soviet Union during the Cold War because it feared an unsuccessful games if boycotted. Montreal was the only other bid besides Moscow and Los Angeles so it was chosen in a 41-28 final vote.

These games were, however, subject to large boycotts from many African nations who were protesting the participation of New Zealand who played sporting events in apartheid South Africa. Canada also fared notoriously poor, winning zero gold medals and placing 27th overall in the medal count.