Montreal, 1535-1914. Vol. 1. Under the French Régime, 1535-1760

In Short

William Henry Atherton’s Montreal, 1535-1914. Vol. 1. Under the French Régime, 1535-1760 offers a detailed historical account of the origin, growth, and eventual fall of French colonial Montreal. The volume traces two centuries of transformation, beginning with Jacques Cartier’s initial contact with the native village of Hochelaga in 1535 and Samuel de Champlain’s early trading ventures. It details the founding of Ville Marie as a pious Catholic mission, its struggle for survival against harsh wilderness winters and relentless Iroquois raids, and its evolution into a bustling commercial hub for the fur trade. Atherton chronicles the rise of local institutions, civil governance, and legendary regional figures, alongside the persistent internal rivalries between Montreal and Quebec, religious leaders and secular governors. The narrative culminates in the cataclysmic Seven Years’ War, where widespread administrative corruption, devastating famine, and British military supremacy lead to the capitulation of Montreal in 1760. The work endures as an authoritative, document-rich chronicle of North American colonial history.

The Story

The narrative opens in 1535 with the second voyage of Jacques Cartier, who sails up the St. Lawrence River under royal commission to explore the uncharted interior. Reaching the native settlement of Hochelaga at the foot of a prominent mountain he names Mount Royal, Cartier meets the local inhabitants, climbs the peak to survey the vast surrounding lowlands, and reads aloud from the Gospel of St. John. Though early attempts at permanent colonization under Cartier and Roberval falter due to harsh conditions, the dream of a French presence along the St. Lawrence persists. Decades later, Samuel de Champlain arrives at the great rapids, seeking to establish trading monopolies while forging alliances with Algonquin and Huron tribes—a strategic choice that inadvertently sparks generations of bitter hostility with the powerful Iroquois Confederacy. Early colonial efforts remain stymied by commercial greed and royal disinterest, as titled company directors in France draw lucrative fees while neglected settlements struggle to take root.

A decisive turn occurs in 1627 when Cardinal Richelieu charters the Company of One Hundred Associates, barring Huguenots from settlement to enforce religious uniformity and establish a stable agricultural foundation. In France, devout visionaries led by Jean-Jacques Olier, founder of the Seminary of St. Sulpice, and Jérôme le Royer de la Dauversière conceive a distinct mission: the establishment of Ville Marie on the island of Montreal as a purely religious enterprise dedicated to converting the native populations. In 1642, Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, leads the first group of settlers to the island, erecting a wooden fort despite the looming threat of floods and Indian attacks.

Life at Ville Marie is defined by constant peril and intense spiritual devotion. Iroquois war parties ambush settlers in their fields, leading to tragic casualties, scalpings, and martyrdoms, including the deaths of Sulpician priests like M. Lemaître and M. Vignal. To preserve the fragile outpost from total destruction, Maisonneuve returns to France in 1653 and recruits a relief force of over one hundred skilled tradesmen and soldiers. Religious women play a foundational role in sustaining the community: Jeanne Mance secures funding from wealthy French benefactors to establish the Hôtel-Dieu hospital, while Marguerite Bourgeoys founds the Congregation of Notre-Dame to educate the colony's youth. Meanwhile, Sulpician priests take over the seigneury and spiritual direction of Montreal, gradually replacing the transient ministry of the Jesuits and establishing a civil-ecclesiastical governance structure that shapes the city for generations.

As the colony grows, its economic character shifts dramatically. Montreal becomes the prime gateway for the North American fur trade. Coureurs de bois and ambitious merchants venture deep into the wilderness, bartering European goods for valuable beaver and marten pelts. While some families, like that of Charles Le Moyne, rise from modest origins to found aristocratic dynasties, many impoverish themselves chasing rapid profits instead of tilling the soil. Tensions mount between Montreal and Quebec over trade monopolies, civil authority, and jurisdiction. These rivalries erupt in public clashes, such as the fiery sermon preached by Abbé Fénelon against Governor Frontenac's autocratic methods, witnessed by a young Cavelier de La Salle, who has recently departed the Jesuit order to pursue western exploration.

Despite internal feuds, the settlement expands into a thriving town. Municipal regulations are introduced to govern trades, restrict the number of tanners and butchers, and maintain public order. Crimes against religion or public decency are met with harsh judicial penalties, such as the public whipping and galley sentence handed to a soldier for sacrilege. Visitors describe a lively urban social life, noting the distinct charms and industriousness of Montreal's women compared to those of Quebec.

The final chapters chronicle the tragic climax of New France during the Seven Years' War. Plagued by crop failures and official corruption engineered by greedy administrators, Montreal suffers through severe famine. Tensions between the French regular commander, the Marquis de Montcalm, and the Canadian-born Governor Vaudreuil paralyze military planning. Despite brilliant tactical victories like the Battle of Carillon, the defenders are inexorably worn down by William Pitt’s grand strategy. Following the fall of Quebec and the relentless advance of British forces under General James Murray along the St. Lawrence, three enemy armies converge on the Island of Montreal in the summer of 1760. Stripped of imperial reinforcement and facing overwhelming odds, Vaudreuil surrenders the city, closing two centuries of French rule and sealing the fate of the colony.

How It Unfolds

The voyage begins Jacques Cartier sails up the St. Lawrence River in 1535 under a commission from the French Crown, bypassing native attempts to turn him back. He reaches the fortified native village of Hochelaga, climbs Mount Royal to view the surrounding landscape, and plants the seeds of French territorial claims.

Trading posts and missteps Samuel de Champlain explores the St. Lawrence rapids in the early seventeenth century, attempting to build a sustainable trading monopoly. His military alliance with the Hurons and Algonquins against the Iroquois secures immediate trade routes but exposes future French settlements to decades of devastating raids.

The holy enterprise Devout reformers in France form the Company of Notre Dame de Montréal to establish a religious mission on the island. In 1642, Maisonneuve and Jeanne Mance land at Ville Marie, erecting a fort and laying the groundwork for a community dedicated to evangelization and medical care.

Holding the fort Surrounded by hostile forces and threatened by seasonal river floods, the small colony survives through sheer tenacity and key reinforcements. Maisonneuve brings a major recruitment force of skilled artisans from France in 1653, while Marguerite Bourgeoys establishes the town's first non-cloistered school system.

Trade and rivalry Montreal transforms into the commercial capital of the wilderness fur trade, attracting merchants, woodsmen, and ambitious fortune-seekers. Growing economic power leads to fierce administrative disputes with Quebec authorities over trade restrictions, court jurisdictions, and political authority.

Cracks in the empire As the eighteenth century progresses, the colony grapples with severe economic inequalities, public trials, and strict civil regulation of local trades. Flashpoints of military conflict with English colonies increase, placing heavy defense burdens on Canadian militia and native allies.

The final siege Famine, widespread government graft, and bitter feuds between French military command and local officials undermine Montreal's defenses during the Seven Years' War. British armies converge on the island from three directions in 1760, forcing Governor Vaudreuil to sign the capitulation that ends the French Régime.

The People

• Jacques Cartier: A skilled master pilot from St. Malo driven by royal commission to explore the unknown reaches of the St. Lawrence. He seeks a passage to wealth and new lands, refusing to be turned back by native warnings, and records the first European descriptions of Hochelaga and Mount Royal.
• Samuel de Champlain: A royal geographer, trader, and persistent colonial promoter who serves as the practical founder of New France. He strives to establish permanent agricultural settlements, but his decision to ally with local tribes against the Iroquois shapes the bloody military trajectory of the region.
• Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve: The devout and courageous first governor of Montreal who dedicates his life to preserving Ville Marie. Confronted by constant Iroquois ambushes and precarious finances, he tirelessly recruits soldiers and workers from France to ensure the colony's survival.
• Jeanne Mance: A determined, visionary nurse and administrator who secures substantial financial backing from wealthy French patrons to build and support the Hôtel-Dieu hospital. She overcomes physical suffering and administrative obstacles to sustain the health and welfare of early settlers.
• Marguerite Bourgeoys: A pioneering educator who rejects the traditional cloistered life to establish the Congregation of Notre-Dame. She travels between France and the wilderness to recruit teachers, offering accessible education to rural children and poor families across the island.
• Robert Cavelier de La Salle: An ambitious, restless former Jesuit scholastic who leaves the order to seek fame and fortune in North America. Driven by an intense desire for independent exploration, he becomes a prominent figure in regional trade conflicts and western expeditions.
• Marquis de Montcalm: The commander of French regular troops in North America, known for his strict professional standards and tactical brilliant at Carillon. He harbors deep skepticism toward Canadian militia tactics and clashes repeatedly with local authorities over strategy and colonial governance.
• Pierre de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil: The Canadian-born Governor General of New France who takes great pride in local colonial forces and guerrilla warfare tactics. His fierce vanity and continuous clashes with Montcalm hamper the colony's unified defense during the British invasion.

In Its Own Voice

"From the top of Mount Royal the other hills referred to can all be seen rising from the plain to the east; while to the north the plain stretches away unbroken to the foot of the Laurentian plateau."

This physical description captures the expansive geographic view recorded by early explorers standing atop the mountain that gave Montreal its name.

"I answered him that I would never abandon it; that I would rather die than give it up to the enemy; and that it was of the greatest importance that they should never get possession of any French fort..."

These words, recorded in the narrative of young Madeleine de Verchères, illustrate the fierce, unyielding spirit required of everyday colonists defending frontier outposts against siege.

"In Montreal, the girls are not quite so volatile, but more industrious. They are always at their needlework, or doing some necessary business in the house."

A XVIII-century observer contrasts the practical habits and modest demeanour of Montreal's women with the more flirtatious social customs observed downriver in Quebec.

What It's Really About

Beneath its chronological detail, the volume presents an investigation into how human idealism transforms when forced to adapt to a harsh environment. The narrative examines the conflict between spiritual intention and economic reality. Montreal was conceived not as a commercial enterprise, but as a consecrated mission—a "new church" designed to mirror the purity of early Christianity. Yet the geography of the St. Lawrence River made the island the natural crossroads for North American commerce. The pristine religious vision of its founders inevitably collided with the gritty realities of the fur trade, imperial rivalry, and material survival.

The text also explores the deep structural friction between European systems and frontier necessities. Atherton illustrates how French feudalism, rigid ecclesiastical hierarchies, and courtly administrative styles struggled to maintain control over an expansive wilderness. Canadian-born colonists developed a distinct regional identity, practical military methods, and a fiery independence that repeatedly brought them into conflict with European-born officials. Ultimately, the book demonstrates that the fall of New France was caused as much by internal administrative decay, courtly corruption, and systemic neglect as by the arrival of British warships.

Why Read It Today

This volume appeals to readers who value deeply researched, unvarnished local history built upon foundational primary source materials. Rather than offering a generalized overview, Atherton brings the past to life through original letters, court transcripts, official commissions, and contemporary diaries. The reader experiences the growth of early North America through the exact words of the people who navigated its rivers, built its stone farmhouses, and defended its wooden palisades.

The reading experience is rich, immersive, and remarkably varied. Atherton balances grand imperial narrative arcs with vivid human detail:

• a priest saying his breviary in a field before an ambush,
• merchants driving hard bargains over marten skins,
• young women sitting by open windows chatting with callers, and
• recruits signing labor contracts in small French villages.

The prose reflects a respectful, measured tone that avoids sensationalism while maintaining a strong narrative momentum.

Prospective readers should be prepared for the book's scholarly density and unapologetic detail. As a historical document published in 1914, it contains extensive lists of early settlers, technical geological surveys, transcribed legal decrees, and occasional untranslated French or Latin passages. Period attitudes toward native populations and religious rivalries are reproduced directly from seventeenth- and eighteenth-century records without modern editorial softening. For those willing to navigate these historical complexities, the book provides an authentic, authoritative portrait of how a major North American city was forged out of wilderness, faith, and war.