History of Quebec: II Trivia Quiz

Answer: Trois-Rivieres

Trois-Rivières, literally meaning 'Three Rivers', was founded by Nicolas Goupil, sieur de Laviolette, on July 4, 1634. It lies on the St.Lawrence river, at the mouth of the Saint Maurice river, around 125 kilometers south of Québec City and approximately the same distance north of Montréal.

The name actually comes from an illusion: the Saint Maurice river separates into three channels, which look like three different rivers.

Answer: Nicolas de Laviolette

Nicolas Goupil, sieur de Laviolette was a French explorer sent by France along with his leader Samuel de Champlain on a team in charge of colonizing the New World. Although Champlain found the location, recognizing it from a diary written by Jacques Cartier, and made the decision to found a settlement there, Laviolette led the expedition and therefore is considered the founder of Trois-Rivières.

Answer: 1634

Trois-Rivières was founded 26 years after Québec City. The trip back to France and then the trip back to the New World are the causes of this long gap, as well as the scurvy.

Answer: Scurvy

Scurvy regularly killed more than half of the French explorers, seamen and settlers in the first years of colonization. Caused by a lack of vitamin C, it severely damages one's gums, thus causing teeth loss. Haemorrhage and, eventually, death follow. Fortunately, making alliances, the French could benefit from Algonquian medicine, which later made them immune to this deadly disease.

Answer: Ville-Marie

Ville-Marie was founded in 1642 by Paul de Chomedey, sieur de Maisonneuve. The reason why you might have never heard of it is that it doesn't bear this name anymore ... it's now called Montreal.

Answer: Montreal

Ville-Marie, a French settlement founded on an Island of the Saint Lawrence river, had a new name a few years later. It is now known (very well) as 'Montréal'. The name 'Ville-Marie' was a tribute to the Virgin Mary ('Marie', in French). 'Ville' means 'city'.

Answer: 1642

Eight years after Trois-Rivières, on May 17, 1642, Ville-Marie was founded on an island of the Saint Lawrence river. Some 350 years later, it is the biggest city in Quebec with 1.5 million citizens. It is a major Canadian city, second only to Toronto. It is also the third biggest francophone city in the world, after Paris, France, and Kinshasa, Congo.

Answer: Paul de Maisonneuve

Paul de Chomedey, sieur de Maisonneuve, founded Ville-Marie - Montréal - in 1642. He called it so to honor a vow he made to the Virgin Mary (Marie, in French) during an cataclysmic flood. The name 'Montréal' was actually first used by Jacques Cartier in his diary, talking about the Iroquois village of Hochelaga, standing on the same island in 1535.

It comes from the latin 'mons realis': Mount Royal. 'Montréal' is simply the French translation (in old French, though).

Answer: Louis XIII

Louis XIII le Juste (the Just) was still king of France when Ville-Marie - Montréal - was founded. Tricky question, though, since almost exactly a year later, Louis XIV, at age 5, was on the throne. Le Roi Soleil later forsook New France, believing that there was no future in the New World. The French are actually still quite disdainful towards the American continent...

Answer: Hochelaga

Hochelaga, just like Stadacona near Quebec, had already been deserted for a long time when Montreal was founded. In fact, there were no remains at all. We only know it stood there from Jacques Cartier's diary, which refers to an Iroquois village on the same island. Today, Hochelaga is the name of a neighborhood in Montréal. It is one of the poorest areas in Quebec.