Map of Quebec City. (Plan De La Ville De Québec) 1727

Old map of Canada, Quebec, Québec.

drawn map created in 1727, which shows the Upper Town of Quebec City within and outside the city walls, and the Lower Town, near the confluence of the Saint Lawrence River and the Saint Charles River with its tidal flats. A compass wind rose is situated in the Saint Lawrence, on the left side of the map, and the map is oriented with north to the right. It was drawn by Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry (1682--1756), who, as the king's chief engineer, had been commissioned to develop the city and build fortifications around it. The map shows a future citadel and a new wall to the west, as well as plans for expansion of the Lower Town. The legend identifies by letters and numbers existing structures and those the engineer proposed, such as the castle and Saint-Louis Fort, as well as the Royale, Dauphine, and Vaudreuil artillery batteries. The map also shows the Royale, Dauphine, and Cap Diamant redoubts, the potash hill (present-day Côte de la Potasse), the king's warehouses, the gunpowder warehouses, the quartermaster's palace, the bishop's palace, Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Recollects' church, the Jesuit church and school, the seminary, the Ursuline monastery, and the Hotel-Dieu (hospital) with the Augustinian Monastery. Also marked are the church in Lower Town (Notre-Dame-des-Victoires), and "filles de la congrégation" (an establishment that housed young French immigrant girls until they married), the proposed citadel, the existing wall and fortification of the citadel, as well as the proposed new wall. The existing and future building works are drawn using distinct colors, red for the former, and yellow for the latter. Originally established in 1608 by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain on the same site as a fort built by Jacques Cartier in 1535, Quebec City became the capital of New France. It is one of the oldest cities in Canada and, indeed, within all of North America. It is the only North American city to have retained all of its fortifications, including its outer wall. Scale is indicated in toises, an old French unit measuring about 1.95 meters.

Created by Joseph in 1727.

• Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
• Original resource extent: 1 map : color.
• Original resource at: National Library and Archives of Quebec.
• Content in French.
• Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Map Tags

10-04

1727

Batteries (Weaponry)

Canada

Cities And Towns

Forts And Fortifications

Joseph

Manuscript Maps

Map

Quebec

Saint Lawrence River