ALTHOUGH IT IS IN CANADA, MONTREAL IS THE LARGEST FRENCH-SPEAKING CITY IN THE WORLD AFTER PARIS. IT IS ALSO THE SECOND LARGEST CITY IN CANADA AND ITS CHIEF PORT AND COMMERCIAL CENTRE. IT IS SITUATED ON MONTREAL ISLAND IN THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER, QUEBEC, ABOUT 1,600 KM (1,000 MILES) FROM THE ATLANTIC OCEAN, BUT IS CLOSER TO THE PORT OF LIVERPOOL, ON ENGLAND’S WEST COAST, THAN IS NEW YORK. MONTREAL’S GREAT HARBOUR STRETCHES FOR 25 KM (15 MILES) ALONG THE RIVER. IT IS ICE-FREE FROM MAY TO NOVEMBER AND POWERFUL ICE-BREAKERS KEEP THE RIVER OPEN IN WINTER AND HUGE QUANTITIES OF GOODS ARE LOADED AND UNLOADED THERE. MONTREAL IS ALSO CANADA’S GREATEST RAILWAY JUNCTION AND HAS TWO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS. ITS MAIN INDUSTRIES INCLUDE ENGINEERING, AERONAUTICS, AEROSPACE, TEXTILES, OIL REFINING, AND THE PRODUCTION OF A WIDE RANGE OF EVERYDAY GOODS.
MONTREAL TAKES ITS NAME FROM MONT REAL (FRENCH FOR “MOUNT ROYAL”), AN OLD INACTIVE VOLCANO WHICH RISES 230 METRES (755 FEET) BEHIND THE CITY. ON THE TOP IS A HUGE CROSS. THE CITY CONTAINS MANY HISTORIC CHURCHES. NOTRE DAME DE BONSECOURS, FIRST BUILT IN 1657, IS A TRADITIONAL SAILOR’S SHRINE. THE CHURCH OF NOTRE DAME, ONE OF THE LARGEST IN AMERICA, DATES FROM THE EARLY 19TH CENTURY. ST. JAMES CATHDRAL IS A HALF-SCALE MODEL OF ST. PETER’S IN ROME, ITALY. ON THE SLOPE OF MOUNT ROYAL STANDS THE 20TH CENTURY ORATORY OF ST. JOSEPH. AMONG PROTESTANT CHURCHES ARE THE ANGLICAN CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL AND THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF ST. ANDREW AND ST. PAUL. THERE ARE ALSO SEVERAL IMPRESSIVE JEWISH SYNAGOGUES.
MONTREAL HAS FOUR UNIVERSITIES – MCGILL AND CONCORDIA FOR ENGLISH-SPEAKING STUDENTS, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTREAL AND UNIVERSITY OF QUEBEC FOR THE FRENCH. THE SUPPORT GIVEN TO ITS SCHOOLS, THEATRES, SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, AND ART GALLERY HAS MADE THE CITY A CENTRE OF CANADIAN CULTURE. OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST IN THE CITY INCLUDE THE HISTORIC BUILDINGS OF OLD MONTREAL, THE ORIGINAL CENTRE OF THE CITY; THE BOTANICAL GARDEN, ONE OF THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD; AND THE BIODOME OF MONTREAL, A HUGE BUILDING IN WHICH FOUR DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS HAVE BEEN CREATED, RANGING FROM ARCTIC TO TROPICAL, COMPLETE WITH PLANTS AND ANIMALS.
IN 1535 JACQUES CARTIER SAILED UP THE ST. LAWRENCE AND REACHED AN AMERICAN INDIAN VILLAGE CALLED HOCHELAGA, WHERE MONTREAL NOW STANDS. IN 1611 SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN SET UP A TRADING POST THERE, AND IN 1642 PAUL DE CHOMEDEY DE MAISONNEUVE STARTED A ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSION NAMED VILLE MARIE DE MONTREAL ON THE ISLAND. THE FRENCH IN MONTREAL HELD OUT AGAINST THE BRITISH FOR A YEAR AFTER THE CAPTURE OF QUEBEC BY JAMES WOLFE IN 1759, BUT ALL CANADA CAME UNDER BRITISH RULE WHEN A PEACE TREATY WAS AGREED IN 1763, AND MANY BRITISH TRADERS SETTLED IN THE CITY. MONTREAL EXPANDED RAPIDLY DURING THE 19TH CENTURY, WITH THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE LACHINE CANAL – TO BYPASS RAPIDS ON THE ST. LAWRENCE – AND OF RAILWAYS LINKING THE CITY WITH OTHER CENTRES. BY THE TIME OF CANADIAN CONFEDERATION IN 1867 IT WAS THE COUNTRY’S LARGEST CITY. SINCE THEN IT HAS CONTINUED TO PROSPER. IN 1967 IT WAS THE SITE OF EXPO 67, A VAST TRADE INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIR AND EXHIBITION, AND IN 1976 THE OLYMPIC GAMES WERE HELD THERE. MONTREAL HAS A POPULATION OF ABOUT 3,000,000, OF WHICH ABOUT TWO-THIRDS ARE OF FRENCH DESCENT.