Rainy Day in Quebec

The name of today’s footprint sounds like the title of a novel, but it describes what happened today. My camera got a few shots of the city early in the morning, but when we started our excursion, the bottom of the sky fell out.

Still, despite copious rain, it was a wonderful day, exploring the beautiful French ambience of the Old City. It was founded in the 1530’s by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain. We also saw the Plains of Abraham, where British General Wolfe and French General Montcalm both died in a European conflagration we call “The French and Indian War.” We went next to a waterfall, Montmorency Falls, whose beauty, though not its size, matches Niagra’s cataract. In the rain and fog the waterfall looked magical.

Being here brought home to my mind two peculiarities about Quebec. In the first place, this area must be the most furiously contested area outside the Middle East. The historic remains of military defenses are everywhere. We saw forts designed to protect the French from the Indians in the seventeenth century, from the British in the eighteenth century and from the Americans in the nineteenth century. This place has changed owners more often than a 1967 Mercury Comet.

The other realization was that the French were here first, at least as far as European settlement is concerned. They founded this place and built it into a city. Yet for much of the last 200 years the French descendants have been at a disadvantage. Even though they were the first Europeans here, history has made them a minority. In Quebec City, 95% of the population speaks French, as did the founders of this nation. Yet much of the nation’s development occurred under British rule, hence the dominance of the English language. One can understand why the French-speaking citizens of Quebec felt like second-class citizens. Thankfully the government is now making accommodations to the presence of a large Francophone minority.

Of course one could extend this argument to include the so-called “First Nations” in Canada, the indigenous tribes, who really were here first. One can be grateful that they also have received greater recognition from the government in recent years. The Wendat tribes, misnamed by the French as the “Huron Indians,” had been here long before any Europeans. They were the ones who named this place. Their word “Kébec” means, “where the river narrows.” Because the river narrows here, in bygone days, ocean-going ships were forced to stop here to unload. Thus, Quebec was Canada’s major Atlantic port until the completion of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959. Since then it has shared its role as an Atlantic seaport with Montreal and Toronto.

Whatever the internal political stresses of Canada may be, the Canadians certainly made us feel welcome today. As we got out of the bus to admire the beautiful Chateau Frontenac, Starbucks gave us shelter from the rain. A short walk outside revealed an elaborate monument to Samuel de Champlain. Within a block is a church which is the burial place of the first Bishop of Canada. The history here is palpable. The architecture is stunning. The atmosphere and the food are French. If you want to go to Paris, but can’t, a visit to Quebec can certainly scratch that itch.

The difficulties faced by the citizens of Quebec over the last two hundred years, notwithstanding, Canada is a remarkable nation with its own history and culture. It is not an appendage of the United States. Canada has set its own course, and as the culture in the U.S is changing, Canada is following its own path, capitalizing on the advantages that come from being one of the greatest agricultural producers in the world.

Despite the weather, we had a wonderful day here. I hope you can come and enjoy this remarkable neighbor to the north sometime soon. But before you come, be sure to brush up on your French.En savoir plus