Wilmont Kreis

Birth of Montréal:

In November of 1641, a late arrival from France contained an odd and historically important group. Paul Chomedey Sieur de Maisonneuve and Montréal arrived to settle the town of Ville-Marie on the large island of Montréal many miles upstream of current civilization. He arrived with an odd group of 35 men, 10 women, a few nuns and the very rich Jean Mance. They would winter in Sillery to the north of Québec city making plans to move upstream in the spring. This odd group did not have full support of the Québec government who felt it a foolhardy venture, but it would turn out to be one of the most important ventures in all of early Canada.