Montréal, ville nord-américaine (Montréal, North American City)

The Société historique de Montréal presents the lecture:

Montréal, ville nord-américaine

by Harold Bérubé, Professor in the Department of History at the Université de Sherbrooke

From the Iroquoian village of Hochelaga to the missionary outpost of Ville-Marie, from early 19th century regional trade hub to Canada’s industrial and financial metropolis at the turn of the next century, Montréal—the continent’s only predominantly French-speaking major city—has undergone many changes. In this lecture, we will specifically focus on its inclusion in the network of North American cities. Starting in the mid-19th century, the city became an epicentre of urban and industrial modernity that profoundly transformed the face of the continent. It experienced or underwent transformations that also affected its fellow cities throughout North America. At the same time, its trajectory has certain singularities that make it unique.

We will explore the tension between the distinguishing characteristics of the Montréal experience and those that link it to the rest of the continent by addressing various aspects of the urban experience: the development of the streetcar and the construction of skyscrapers, the forming of upper-class neighbourhoods and those of vice and crime, and the battles among those who want to “save” the city.