Customer Reviews

Old Quebec, the Fortress of New France

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"Old Quebec: Fortress Of New France" is a reprint of a 1903 history of Quebec from the time of its founding to a century ago. It clearly shows its age.

This book focuses, though not exclusively, on the role of Quebec as a fortress. The authors do a decent job of telling its illustrious story, but I have read better.

The chapters are organized thematically and, for the most part, chronologically. The initial chapters relate the stories of the early explorations an the era of Champlain, the founder of Quebec. This section was of particular interest to me because Champlain greeted some of my ancestors upon their arrival in Canada. The Seventeenth Century was the age of expansion and the era of the Jesuit North American martyrs. The governorship of Frontenac, who tried to create a New World Versailles at Quebec, and the inland explorations of Joliet and LaSalle were, perhaps, the high water marks of New France.

As the Eighteenth Century progressed, wars gradually chipped at French hegemony over much of North America. The importance of control of Halifax and Louisbourg to the security of Quebec is well explained. We read of the climatic showdown of Wolfe and Montcalm at Quebec. After the conquest, political control passed to Britain and the names of the governors and generals changed from French to English.

The authors get a good start at explaining the differences between the settlement patterns of the French and English. The French, motivated largely by religion, saw the New World as presenting an opportunity for Catholicism to compensate for the ground lost to Protestantism in Europe. The New England colonies were intensively settled and became largely self-sufficient, relying of Europe for luxuries and conveniences. New France was extensively, but sparsely settled, and remained dependent on Europe for the staples and necessities of life. Despite this good start, the authors failed to seize the opportunity to explain that the economy of New France was based on the fur trade which precluded the intensive settlement which could have enabled New France to compete long term against the Lion of Britain. By the end the book transfers into a paean of the loyalty of French Canadians to the Dominion.

I mentioned that this book shows its age. I say this because of its writing style. The adjectives sound almost like something from a Mississippi River showboat. Phrases such as "disgraceful orgies", "hellish merriment" and "the fiends" provide an indication of the style throughout this book. This is not consistent with what we see in a modern history.

I enjoyed reading this book although I must admit a bit of disappointment. I gained some insights which I had not picked up during other reading, but the insights were sparse in comparison to those of some other books which I have read.