Habitation de Québec

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Sketch of the habitation drawn in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain
True-to-scale reconstruction of the first habitation on the occasion of the tricentenary in 1908

The Habitation de Québec ( Middle French : Abitation de Qvebecq ) was an ensemble of buildings in the Canadian city ​​of Québec that served as a fort , trading post and accommodation. This "dwelling" was built in 1608 under the direction of Samuel de Champlain and formed the nucleus of the first permanent French colony in North America. It was in what is now the Lower City of Québec on Place Royale .

history

The ship Don de Dieu anchored on July 3, 1608 near the village of Stadacona at the foot of Cap Diamant . The expedition commissioned by Pierre Dugua de Mons and led by Samuel de Champlain cleared part of the forest and built a warehouse to store their supplies. Champlain's team (consisting of craftsmen and workers) then dug trenches, laid the foundations and then built other buildings that were connected to the first. Of the 28 participants in the expedition, only eight (including Champlain) survived the first winter in the new settlement, and the deaths were mainly due to scurvy and dysentery . Despite this setback, the settlement was completed in 1609.

Repairs were carried out regularly in the following years. In order to protect the settlement better, originated in 1620 on the plateau of the overlying Colline de Québec , the Fort Saint-Louis . In 1624 the first habitation made of wood was replaced by a new building made of stone. In 1629 the English adventurer David Kirke took Québec, three years later the English returned the settlement to France. The group of buildings was rebuilt in 1633, flanked by an annex and two towers. In the same year, Champlain moved the administration to Fort Saint-Louis and the Habitation was then only used as a warehouse. A major fire in the lower town destroyed it on August 4, 1682. In its place, the Church of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires was built in 1688 .

Several extensive archaeological investigations took place between 1975 and 1988. Numerous artefacts of the natives and the French came to light. The basement of the Notre-Dame-des-Victoires church contains remains of stone foundations from the second habitation. Markings on Place Royale indicate the location of the towers and various walls.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jacques Lacoursière: Le 3 juillet 1608 - La fondation de Québec: les Français s'installent en Amérique du Nord. Fondation Lionel-Groulx, October 13, 2011, accessed October 1, 2014 (French).
  2. ↑ a b Site patrimonial de l'Habitation-Samuel-De Champlain. In: Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec. Ministère de culture et des communications du Québec, 2013, accessed on October 1, 2014 (French).
  3. ↑ Traces de la seconde habitation de Champlain. In: Place Royale d'aujourd'hui à here. Musée de la civilization , accessed October 1, 2014 (French).

Coordinates: 46 ° 48 ′ 46.4 ″  N , 71 ° 12 ′ 9 ″  W.