History

Montreal is an island located in the Saint Lawrence River, which was originally populated by the Iroquois who had lived in Quebec for thousands of years. In 1535, Jacques Cartier (an explorer from France) was among the first Europeans to set foot on the island. He and his men climbed up the mountain to put a cross and declare the land in the name of France. Cartier named the mountain "Mont-Royal". The city of Montreal (at first also called Ville Marie) was founded in May 1642 as a missionary colony.