Île d'Orléans
Encyclopedia
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east of downtown Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The island was one of the first parts of the province to be colonized by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and a large percentage of French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
s can trace ancestry to early residents of the island. The island has been described as the "microcosm of traditional Quebec and as the birthplace of francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
s in North America."
The island is accessible from the mainland via the Île d'Orléans Bridge from Beauport
Beauport, Quebec
Beauport is a borough of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada on the Saint Lawrence River.Beauport is a northeastern suburb of Quebec City. Manufactures include paint, construction materials, printers, and hospital supplies. Food transportation is important to the economy...
. Route 368
Quebec route 368
Route 368 is a 72 km two-lane east/west highway in Quebec, Canada, which is located on Île d'Orléans and includes the Pont de l'Île which connects the island to the mainland...
is the sole provincial route on the island, which crosses the bridge and circles the perimeter of the island. At the village of Sainte-Pétronille toward the western end of the island, a viewpoint oversees the impressive Chute Montmorency (Montmorency Falls
Montmorency Falls
The Montmorency Falls are a large waterfall on the Montmorency River in Quebec, Canada. The falls are located on the boundary between the borough of Beauport, Quebec City, and Boischatel, about 12 km from the heart of old Quebec City...
), as well as a panorama of the St. Lawrence River and Quebec City.
Île d'Orléans is twinned with Île de Ré
Île de Ré
Île de Ré is an island off the west coast of France near La Rochelle, on the northern side of the Pertuis d'Antioche strait....
in France.
Geography
The Island of Orleans is situated between the Laurentian Plateau or Canadian ShieldCanadian Shield
The Canadian Shield, also called the Laurentian Plateau, or Bouclier Canadien , is a vast geological shield covered by a thin layer of soil that forms the nucleus of the North American or Laurentia craton. It is an area mostly composed of igneous rock which relates to its long volcanic history...
to the north and the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
to the south. Its north-eastern point marks the boundary between the St. Lawrence River and its estuary
Gulf of Saint Lawrence
The Gulf of Saint Lawrence , the world's largest estuary, is the outlet of North America's Great Lakes via the Saint Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean...
(the largest in the world), where fresh water begins to mix with salt water.
Of irregular form with jagged coves and capes, the Island of Orleans is 34 kilometres (21.1 mi) long and 8 kilometres (5 mi) wide at the widest point. It is 75 kilometres (46.6 mi) in circumference, with a total surface area of 190 square kilometres (73.4 sq mi). It has a hilly relief, small valleys, and gradual crests that reach a maximum height of about 150 metres (492.1 ft) at Sainte-Pétronille and Saint-Laurent in the south.
Geopolitical
Administratively, the island is within Quebec's Capitale-NationaleCapitale-Nationale
Capitale-Nationale is one of 17 administrative regions of Quebec, Canada. Quebec City, Quebec's centre of government, is located in this region. It has a land area of 18,638.7 km2...
region, and constitutes the L'Île-d'Orléans Regional County Municipality
L'Île-d'Orléans Regional County Municipality, Quebec
L'Île-d'Orléans is a Regional County Municipality in central Quebec, Canada, in the Capitale-Nationale region. Its seat is in Sainte-Famille. The RCM consists solely of the Île d'Orléans, an island in the Saint Lawrence River just east of Quebec City. It is the smallest RCM in Quebec in terms of...
. It is further subdivided in the municipalities of:
- Sainte-Famille
- Saint-François-de-l'Île-d'OrléansSaint-François-de-l'Île-d'Orléans, QuebecSaint-François-de-l'Île-d'Orléans is a municipality in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada, part of the L'Île-d'Orléans Regional County Municipality...
- Saint-Jean-de-l'Île-d'OrléansSaint-Jean-de-l'Île-d'Orléans, QuebecSaint-Jean-de-l'Île-d'Orléans is a municipality in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada, part of the L'Île-d'Orléans Regional County Municipality. It is situated on the south-east side of Orléans Island.-History:...
- Saint-Laurent-de-l'Île-d'OrléansSaint-Laurent-de-l'Île-d'Orléans, QuebecSaint-Laurent-de-l'Île-d'Orléans is a municipality in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada, part of the L'Île-d'Orléans Regional County Municipality. It is situated on the south side of Orléans Island....
- Sainte-Pétronille
- Saint-Pierre-de-l'Île-d'OrléansSaint-Pierre-de-l'Île-d'Orléans, QuebecSaint-Pierre-de-l'Île-d'Orléans is a municipality in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada, part of the L'Île-d'Orléans Regional County Municipality...
The entire island is part of the Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord
Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord
Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004...
federal electoral riding, and the Montmorency
Montmorency (provincial electoral district)
Montmorency is a provincial electoral district in the province of Quebec, Canada. Located in the Capitale-Nationale region, the riding was created in 1829...
provincial electoral riding.
History
The island had long been inhabited by the indigenous tribesIndigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
. The Huron called it Minigo (meaning "Enchantress", because of its charm). The French explorer Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier was a French explorer of Breton origin who claimed what is now Canada for France. He was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named "The Country of Canadas", after the Iroquois names for the two big...
first set foot on the island in 1535 near the present-day village of Saint-François. He called it Île de Bascuz (from Bacchus
Dionysus
Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. His name in Linear B tablets shows he was worshipped from c. 1500—1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks: other traces of Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete...
) because of the abundance of wild grapes growing on the island. Officials later changed the name to Île d'Orléans in honour of the second son of King Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
, Henri II
Henry II of France
Henry II was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559.-Early years:Henry was born in the royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, the son of Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany .His father was captured at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 by his sworn enemy,...
, the Duke of Orléans. The island was also known as Grande Île, Sainte-Marie, and Saint-Laurent for certain periods in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Early French settlers, immigrating mostly from the Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
and Poitou
Poitou
Poitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers.The region of Poitou was called Thifalia in the sixth century....
regions in France, were attracted to the island because of its fertile soil. They colonized it according to the seigneurial system of New France
Seigneurial system of New France
The seigneurial system of New France was the semi-feudal system of land distribution used in the North American colonies of New France.-Introduction to New France:...
, which is still evident in its layout, featuring residences close together, with outlying long, narrow fields and a common. In 1661, the first parish of Sainte-Famille was founded, followed by another four parishes in 1679/1680. By 1685, there were 1205 mostly French inhabitants and 917 livestock.
In 1744, colonists completed the 67 kilometres (41.6 mi) Chemin Royal (Royal Road), which encircles the entire island. Jean Mauvide, a surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
for the King of France, built the Manoir Mauvide-Genest in 1734 as his residence. In 1759 it was occupied by British General Wolfe
James Wolfe
Major General James P. Wolfe was a British Army officer, known for his training reforms but remembered chiefly for his victory over the French in Canada...
when his forces occupied the island shortly before the Battle of the Plains of Abraham
Battle of the Plains of Abraham
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec, was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War...
during the Seven Years War. Great Britain was victorious.
In the 19th and early 20th century, several boat-building yards operated on the island, especially in Saint-Laurent-de-l'Île-d'Orléans
Saint-Laurent-de-l'Île-d'Orléans, Quebec
Saint-Laurent-de-l'Île-d'Orléans is a municipality in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada, part of the L'Île-d'Orléans Regional County Municipality. It is situated on the south side of Orléans Island....
. Together with the thriving fishing industry of that era, it gave the Island of Orleans a maritime character.
The Island of Orleans retained its traditional rural way of life until 1935, when construction was completed on the Pont de l'Île bridge, allowing much more traffic. The crossing connects to the Chemin Royal. In spite of this, the island has maintained its pastoral image and historic character, with more than 600 buildings classified or recognized as heritage property. In 1970, the entire island was designated a National Historic District.
Today the island is a mix of suburban communities and farms. It is a popular destination for daytrippers and bicyclists.
Economy
Since the days of the first French settlers, agriculture has been the main economic activity. The island, known as the "Garden of Quebec", is still an essentially rural place famous locally for its produce, especially strawberries, apples, potatoes and wineries. Sugar mapleSugar Maple
Acer saccharum is a species of maple native to the hardwood forests of northeastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario, and south to Georgia and Texas...
stands produce maple syrup
Maple syrup
Maple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then...
and other products. A farm has been established for breeding bison
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
.
While the old trades of fishing and boat building have been abandoned, the island's rich cultural heritage and pastoral scenery has led to a flourishing tourism industry. It attracts more than 600,000 visitors each year. Numerous bed-and-breakfast inns, regional cuisine restaurants, roadside fruit stands, art galleries and craft shops also attract visitors.