Québec Eastern Township or Estrie or Cantons de l'Est in English

Eastern Township or
Estrie or Cantons de l’Est, Quebec

Cities to visit

Bury, Chartierville, Courcelles, Ditfield, Fr

ontenac, Go

uld, La Patrie, Lac-Mégantic, Lingwick, Milan, Notre-Dame-des-Bois, Piopolis, Sainte-Cécile-de-Whitton ou Audet, Saint-Romain, Saint-Samuel-de-Gayhurst ou Lac-Drolet, Scotstown, Sherbrooke, Val Racine and many others.

The Americans

Americans began to

settle in the Eastern Townsips from 1790 to 1830, as they were  British Loyalists from New England fleeing the American Revolution. The first American settlers were squatters and were unaware of the fact that in their attempt to escape the war, persecution and taxes, they had actually crossed the border between Canada and the United States. Still a natural buffer zone between French Canadians and the United States, settlers had to clear paths to the region on foot and return later with oxen and supplies. In 1797, the population of the Eastern Townships is estimated to have been 2000 and by 1830, it had risen to approximately 20,000 due to American farmers on Canadian land. American settlement was initially encouraged by the British, as it did not seem as though any other group wished to settle the region and because they desperately wanted an English presence in Quebec.

The first  Americans to settle in the Eastern Townships entered the area via the Hudson River and Lake Champlain. However, three other main entry routes were later employed via Lake Champlain and Lake Richelieu, Lake Megantic and the Chaudiere River, and Lake Memphremagog and the Magog River, and many settlers ended up in St. Armand and St. John’s on the Richelieu at a market and military post. Fears over conflicts arising between the French and English in Quebec were present, but no efforts of prevention were put forth. What was not considered though, was that the Americans were settling on Abenaki land, forcing them to find another home.

During the period of American settlement, the Eastern Townships was basically an American Frontier mostly because all economic, social and religious ties were directed towards the United States. 

Bury, Quebec

This is also seen in the transportation paths, agricultural practices, and architectural styles used during this phase of settlement. Settling in places that resembled the homes they fled, the Americans established farms on upland surfaces where the soil was the most fertile, light, and well drained, in areas like Stanstead, Brome, south of Shefford, and along the St. Francis River Valley. Based on sheep, cattle, wheat, and potatoes, the Americans in the Eastern Townships maintained an isolated, self-sufficient group of settlers.

The population of Americans in the region started to slow down in 1825, when the Erie Canal was opened and they were able to settle in places in Western Canada, which offered much more fertile land. Five years later, the continuous settling of Americans in the area had come to a halt.

British Settlement

 The British settlement phase in the Eastern Townships spanned from 1820 to 1850 and consisted of those escaping the Napoleonic Wars, an economic recession in England, overcrowding in Scotland, and a potato blight in Ireland. The British American Land Company (BALC) played a significant role in attracting British citizens to the region by publishing settlement pamphlets that boasted of the great lifestyle of the Eastern Townships. They did this because they wanted to ensure that the area would be English and loyal to Britain, instead of French or American.

One of the most significant efforts made to lure British settlers into the region was the construction of Craig Road in 1809, which connected the Eastern Townships at Richmond to Quebec City, the main port for British immigrants. The settlers during this phase chose vacant lands in Shefford, Richmond, Brome, and Stanstead for their new homes, which did not offer the best soil, but the Americans had already taken the most fertile land. Another point of attraction to the area was that many Irish and Scottish settlers received 100 acres of land as well as food implements for free during their first year in the Eastern Townships.

Due to the efforts of the British Crown and BALC, the Irish were the largest group of British immigrants that came to the area during this time, beginning with a population of 3000. They were also the first Catholic group to settle the region, but balancing with the Presbyterian Scots led there to be a continued protestant majority in the Eastern Townships. The advertising techniques were so successful during this phase of settlement that by 1844, there were just as many British settlers in the area as there were American.

Towards the end of the British settlement phase, the majority of the population in the Eastern Townships was English, as were the people who held and controlled the economic and political power. 

However, English efforts to remain the dominant power in the region eventually failed because they did not want work as unskilled labourers and the younger generations were leaving in search of better employment opportunities and school. The French invasion of the area later on would solidify the demise of the English in the Eastern Townships. 

French Settlement

The final phase of settlement in the Eastern Townships was that of the French Canadians during the 1850’s, which is sometimes referred to as the “French Invasion”. Due to overcrowded seigniorial lands in the rest of Quebec, many French Canadians migrated south to the northern Eastern Townships of Drummond, Arthabaska, and Megantic first as summer farm labourers and later as colonists. The French chose these specific areas of the region because the American and British settlers had already taken most of the uplands, and also because the heavy clay soils of the valleys were similar to those they were accustomed to in the St. Lawrence lowlands. Once settled in the townships, the French would colonize the land, work as labourers, or purchase a farm from an English family that was moving out of the region.

The settlement of the French in the Eastern Townships was made possible by the establishment of the Association des Townships, by Father Bernard O’Reilley in 1848. 

Lac-Mégantic

This was designed to alleviate the overcrowded seigniories by providing new land, to prevent the French immigration into the United States, and to ensure the survival and preservation of French culture. The influence of both the Catholic Church and the Association helped raise the population of French Canadians in the Eastern Townships to a majority by 1860, due to high levels of immigration as well as the high natural increase rate of the French.

The reason French settlement in the region did not occur earlier is that until 1849, the Catholic Church, so central to seigniorial life, was not allowed to purchase any land, or establish any parishes in the area due to English Protestant laws and control. The arrival of the railway in 1853 also encouraged French Canadians to migrate to the Eastern Townships because the entire area became suddenly more accessible. The lure of factory work also brought many French Canadians into the area, as they were more than willing to work as unskilled labourers at low wages, which differentiated them from the English. The French Canadian outlook on life during this time was centered around the Catholic Church, which formed their disposition, ambition, and views on education. Whereas the English saw education as a tool for economic success, the French believed that hard work was just as successful, which is why so many English left the area and so many French stayed, making them the cultural majority in the Eastern Townships.

© Alain Laprise December 28, 2014