The name “du Sault-au-Matelot” is said to have many different origins. Though a “sault” is a “waterway,” what does it have to do with a sailor (“matelot”)? Popular local legend has it that a dog named Matelot fell down the adjacent cliff. It is more likely, however, that the street was named in honour of the sailor Guillaume Couillard.

1830 - 1832

A stroll through the streets of Québec City in the early 19th century

Imagine walking through the streets of Québec City at the turn of the19th century... That is exactly the perspective you will have as you discover the artwork in this album of scenes of the era’s city life! Most of the pieces were created by British servicemen trained at the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich, England, where certain members of the British army learned advanced artistic techniques. Servicemen skilled in art could then put down on paper images of the places where the British army was operating. Rediscover Québec City through their eyes!

Du Sault-au-Matelot Street, Québec City, Lower Canada

James Pattison Cockburn The name “du Sault-au-Matelot” is said to have many different origins. Though a “sault” is a “waterway,” what does it have to do with a sailor (“matelot”)? Popular local legend has it that a dog named Matelot fell down the adjacent cliff. It is more likely, however, that the street was named in honour of the sailor Guillaume Couillard.

Chronoscope What comments and thoughts does this map evoke for you? (unilingual French for a limited time)

Depicted period: 1830

Source: Library and Archives Canada Document in the public domain (free of copyright) - Acc. No. C-011055 - Date: 1830

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