Seeking a northern passage to the East, Jacques Cartier "discovered" in 1534 what is now Quebec and took possession of it in the name of the French king.  Not finding the riches he was seeking, the French king soon lost interest in the discovery. In 1608 Samuel de Champlain returned to Quebec to found the first permanent trading post, the "Habitation," on the site of what is now Quebec City and began colonizing what would soon become known as "La Nouvelle France."

However, the British were also interested in the wealth to be had from fishing and, especially, from fur trading.  Soon, the French Empire and the British Empire were engaged in battles to see who would gain control of the region.  The year 1759 proved disastrous for France.  The French General, Montcalm, and his men were attacked and defeated by General Wolf.  Both generals died during the battle which took place on the Plaines d'Abraham in Quebec City.  It was the end of "La Nouvelle France," and most of the upper and middle class French soon left Quebec for France.  Those who remained became subjects of the English crown and a linguistic, cultural, political, and economic minority.

From 1759 until 1960, the Francophone population of Quebec struggled to maintain its language and heritage through political maneuvering and, at times, through outright rebellion.  The period immediately after World War II was especially difficult, and the Québécois (as they began to call themselves) suffered under a particularly repressive, conservation regime under the Quebec Prime Minister Maurice Duplessis.  Duplessis formed an alliance with the Catholic church that in many ways placed the church in the position of controlling every aspect of Quebec life.

Duplessis died in 1959, and many Québécois turned away from the church.  The following year, Jean Lesage of the Liberal Party, was elected prime minister of Quebec.  He carried through on his campaign promise to "modernize" Quebec society by replacing the heavy role of the Catholic church in such areas as education, hospitals, day care centers, and retirement homes with services provided by the provincial government.  This period is known as "La Révolution Tranquille."

Since 1960 and the "Révolution Tranquille," Québécois society has experienced a political, economic, cultural, and artistic explosion.  Surrounded by anglophone populations on all sides, the Québécois have managed to maintain their cultural and linguistic identity.  They have voted twice to separate from Canada, the last time in 1995, when the vote to separate lost by  a margin of less than one percent.

Quebec offers a unique opportunity to learn French in North America.  It also offers the opportunity to see how important language is to maintenance of a culture, and how culture reflects language and linguistic identity.  Quebec car tags read, "Je me souviens,"  meaning that the Québécois remember their French ancestry and the struggles of their ancestors.

Quebec is a French speaking society.  While Montréal is a true bilingual city, Quebec City, the location of the program, is French speaking.  Quebec City is known to the Québécois as "La Ville Capitale" and the provincial government is seated in "L'Assemblée Nationale"   as though the province were already an independent state.  The Province of Quebec is a member of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, a body in which 52 French-speaking nations collaborate and cooperate, and is active on the international  scene.

You may wonder if  Quebec really is a French-speaking province, or if  French is just sort of vaguely present.  Please listen to what a couple of former  participants of the Quebec Program have to say:  Video 1, Video 2

To get an idea about how proud the Québécois are of their culture and of their French heritage, please view this video, taken during the Soirée d'adieu at the end of the 2005 program:  Video 3

I invite you to come with us to Quebec to learn more about this fascinating people, the Québécois, and, of course, to learn their language.  You will take courses taugh by native Francophones on the campus of the Université Laval, a French-speaking university of  approximately 40,000 students during the academic year, and while you will be part of the "Groupe de Georgie,"  you will also be part of  Laval's second summer session  hosting around one thousand students from across the globe.

Jim Chesnut, Ph.D.
Quebec Program Director