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 Montreal - History

The Huron Indians called the site of Montreal Hochelaga when Jacques Cartier first saw the island in 1535. He named the peak rising from its center Mont Rιal. No other explorers came until Samuel de Champlain visited the island in 1603. The first permanent settlement was established on May 18, 1642, by a little band of French missionaries and colonists led by Maisonneuve.

They named their community Ville-Marie. The town was frequently under Indian attack, but it survived behind its palisade of logs. Growth was slow until the early 18th century. Montreal became a significant fur-trading post in about 1710, and other forms of commerce soon followed. A little later land grants outside the town were developed with farms.

The French regime came to an end in 1760, when Montreal was surrendered to British forces on the Place d'Armes as a result of the French and Indian War. With all of New France it became part of the British North American empire in 1763. Soon many British traders settled in the city and the surrounding area.

In the early years of the 19th century, Montreal made rapid economic progress. Steam navigation began on the St. Lawrence in 1809. The Lachine Canal, forerunner of the St. Lawrence Seaway, was started in 1821, and during the 1830s and 1840s railroads from Toronto, New York City, Boston, and other cities reached Montreal. In 1860 the prince of Wales dedicated the Victoria Bridge across the St. Lawrence. When the Canadian Confederation was proclaimed in 1867 Montreal was the largest metropolis in Canada

In 1878, David Ross McCord began adding to the already considerable collection assembled by his family since their arrival in Canada. Sparing neither time nor money, he combed the length and breadth of the country in search of the finest and most historically significant objects. Gradually, a plan began to take shape in his mind: that of founding a national history museum in Montreal.

On October 13, 1921, the McCord National Museum opened its doors, housed in a building provided by McGill University. Both its collection and its reputation grew rapidly.

On December 4, 1969, Montreal's mayor Jean Drapeau officially proposed Montreal for the 1976 Games of the XXIst Olympiad.

On May 12 of the following year, the International Olympic Committee (I.O.C.) announced its decision to award the organization of those Games to the City of Montreal. The quadrilateral was brought back to life.

On February 3, 1973, the COJO (the "Comite organisateur des Jeux Olympiques"), took the first critical overall steps toward the construction of the various installations. On April 28, excavation work began on the Montreal Olympic Park.

Work on the Velodrome began on August 27, 1973, and on February 16, 1975, the support arches used during the construction of the roof of this truly unique edifice were dismantled.

As the months went by, the work went ahead full steam. But in May of 1975, the workers went on strike and it was not until the following October 26 that they returned to the work site. They were now seriously behind schedule.

On November 20, the Quebec National Assembly adopted Bill 81 creating the Rιgie des installations olympiques (RIO), whose task it was to oversee the completion of the Olympic Park.

By May 15, 1976, it had become necessary to create temporary installations for various facilities due to the delays in construction on the Stadium.

On July 17, 1976, the entire world looked on as the opening ceremonies of the XXIst Olympiad took place in Montreal

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