The Fort de la Montagne (also called Fort des Messieurs or Fort Belmont) was an old fortification, the remaining structures of which are located on

Sherbrooke Street Sherbrooke Street (officially in french: rue Sherbrooke) is a major east–west artery and at in length, is the second longest street on the Island of Montreal. The street begins in the town of Montreal West and ends on the extreme tip of t ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. The fort was constructed in 1685 and parts of it were demolished in the mid 19th century. Two high stone towers, built in 1694 as bastions of the fort, still remain and are among the oldest structures on the

Island of Montreal The Island of Montreal (french: Île de Montréal) is a large island in southwestern Quebec, Canada, that is the site of a number of municipalities including most of the city of Montreal and is the most populous island in Canada. It is the main ...

.
Chapelle du Grand Séminaire
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Université du Québec The University of Quebec ( French: ''Université du Québec'') is a system of ten provincially run public universities in Quebec, Canada. Its headquarters are in Quebec City. The university coordinates 300 programs for over 87,000 students. Th ...

The towers were designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...

in 1970.

History

The mission to Christianize the native people was established in 1675 at the foot of

Mont-Royal Mount Royal (french: Mont-Royal, officially Town of Mount Royal, french: Ville de Mont-Royal, abbreviated TMR, french: VMR) is an affluent on-island suburban town located on the northwest side of the eponymous Mount Royal, northwest of Downtown ...

mountain.

François Vachon de Belmont François Vachon de Belmont (3 April 1645 – 22 May 1732) was the fifth superior of the Montreal Sulpicians from 1700 to 1731. Vachon de Belmont was born in Burgundy, France to a wealthy family. He moved to Canada and personally funded the cons ...

was sent to

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...

towards 1680 by his superiors, order of Saint-Sulpice priests in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

to stop the spread of witchcraft and visions at the mission. In 1683, 210 natives, (

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

Hurons The Wyandot people, or Wyandotte and Waⁿdát, are Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. The Wyandot are Iroquoian Indigenous peoples of North America who emerged as a confederacy of tribes around the north shore of Lake Ontario w ...

Algonquins The Algonquin people are an Indigenous people who now live in Eastern Canada. They speak the Algonquin language, which is part of the Algonquian language family. Culturally and linguistically, they are closely related to the Odawa, Potawatomi, ...

) lived on the site. In order to protect the mission from the Iroquois, a fort was constructed in 1685. In the two decades of its existence, the brandy trade had increased significantly and the missionaries found it necessary to relocate their neophytes and catechumens farther from the drunkenness and seduction of the cities. In 1696, the inhabitants were moved to the other side of the island, to Fort Lorette at Sault-au-Recollet. The mission at de la Montagne was definitely closed in 1705: the grounds were rented to the local peasants, and some would live in the fortifications. In 1825, a floor is added to the main residence of ''château des Messieurs'' and a chapel is built in one of the towers. The fort contained four bastions and a series of ramparts and palisades, which were all destroyed in 1854 except for the two southern towers, during the building of the

College of Montreal A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

.
Inventaire des lieux de mémoire de la Nouvelle-France
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Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montmo ...

, 2001-2004 Three bastions were constructed in the domaine of the Sulpicians: the first when the bastions were built in 1675. In 1984 to 1986, restoration work was undertaken on the two remaining towers. The towers were classified as provincial historical monuments in 1974. In 1982, the towers were included in the ''Domaine des Messieurs-de-Saint-Sulpice'' historic site.

Affiliations

(ca 1854-1857) *

List of French forts in North America This is a list of forts in New France built by the French government or French chartered companies in what later became Canada, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and the United States. They range from large European-type citadels like at Quebec City to ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort De La Montagne 1685 establishments in the French colonial empire Buildings and structures completed in 1685 Buildings and structures in Montreal Downtown Montreal French colonial architecture in Canada French forts in Canada French forts in North America National Historic Sites in Quebec