Plains of Abraham - History

History

On 13 September 1759, the area was the scene of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, part of the French and Indian War, which was itself part of the Seven Years' War. On that date, British soldiers under the command of General Wolfe, climbed the steep cliff under the city in darkness, surprising and defeating the French, through a single deadly volley of musket fire, causing the battle to be over within 30 minutes. Both Wolfe and the French commander, the Marquis de Montcalm, died of their wounds, but the battle left control of Quebec City to the British, eventually allowing them to take control of Canada the following year.

The plains thereafter remained nondescript fields, with only a monument to Wolfe as a reminder of the events that took place. As Quebec City grew, development of the area took place unabated, and hundreds of acres were built over. Only in 1901 did government intervention come, when the proposed subdivision of 88 acres (360,000 m2) of the region was halted by the purchase of the land by the Dominion Crown. At the same time, however, another area of the plains was taken and, despite public protest, covered by a Ross rifle factory, which included a water tank built upon the existing Martello tower. A movement to preserve the site continued, nonetheless, and by 1904, the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec was permitted by the federal government to put up plaques at various significant spots around the vicinity. The following year, a proposal for the establishment of an Historic Landmarks Association was placed before the Royal Society of Canada and Governor General the Earl Grey initiated his plan to preserve the battlefields, having visited the site and stating that he "would never rest until such sacred ground became the heirloom of all Canada and the Empire."

The Mayor of Quebec City, Jean-Georges Garneau, in 1908 appointed a landmark commission under the chairmanship of Chief Justice of the Quebec Superior Court François Langelier. Amongst its recommendations for permanently recording the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City, the group called for a nationalization of the Quebec battlefields and the construction of a museum of Canadian history. The federal prime minister at the time, Wilfrid Laurier, suggested, however, that a preservation of the plains themselves would be a more fitting tribute, thus falling in line with the desires of the Earl Grey, who in January had travelled to Quebec to see whether the site could be dedicated as a part of the tercentenary celebrations. By 17 March, the park was created, becoming the first National Historic Site in Canada, and was placed under the auspices of the newly and specifically formed National Battlefields Commission, a group that, following the lead of King Edward VII, began to collect historical data relating to the plains and the battles that took place on them. Finally, on 24 July 1908, the King's eldest son, Prince George, Prince of Wales, dedicated the Quebec Battlefields Park at the Plains of Abraham, then presenting the title deeds of the lands to the Earl Grey. The events were popular with Quebec residents, leading Laurier to opine that Quebecers were "monarchical by religion, by habit, and by the remembrance of past history." The official memorial record of the anniversary was titled The King's Book of Quebec; with the assent of George V, the reigning monarch at the time, the volume was published in 1911.

The site has become an urban park within Quebec City; the National Battlefields Commission has compared its use to that of Central Park in New York City and Hyde Park in London. It has thus seen various events staged on it, most regularly during the Fête nationale du Québec, the Quebec Winter Carnival, and the Quebec City Summer Festival. Throughout 2008 to 2011, a series of concerts took place in the park, including performances by Van Halen, Sir Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, Rammstein, Sir Elton John and Metallica. On July 21, 2012, Roger Waters ended his tour of The Wall with the largest Wall to date. In September 2012, Madonna held a concert in the Plains of Abraham as a part of her MDNA Tour, and performed to a sold-out crowd of 70.000 people.