Skip to main content
“I have no reply other than from the mouths of my cannons!”  This was the response of Louis de Buade de Frontenac, Governor of New France, in 1690 to General William Phips’ messenger when asked to surrender Québec City to the British Army. During the 1908 tercentenary, these characters re-enacted this episode of history engraved in popular memory.
1908 - 1908

Québec City’s tercentenary

The 300th anniversary of Québec City’s founding was celebrated in grand style from July 19 to 31, 1908. Thousands of visitors flocked to Québec City to commemorate the city’s founding by Champlain. A squadron of warships were launched on the river and some 25,000 military personnel paraded through the streets. Thousands of actors in period costumes gathered on the Plains of Abraham. The festivities cost nearly a million dollars and led to the creation of the Battlefields Park. Do you see a link between the enthusiastic crowds of 1908 and those of the 400th anniversary in 2008?

Military parade of the Infantry of the Province of Quebec

Keystone View Company “I have no reply other than from the mouths of my cannons!” This was the response of Louis de Buade de Frontenac, Governor of New France, in 1690 to General William Phips’ messenger when asked to surrender Québec City to the British Army. During the 1908 tercentenary, these characters re-enacted this episode of history engraved in popular memory.
Chronoscope Can you locate the image on a map? (unilingual French for a limited time) Source: Ville de Québec Document in the public domain (free of copyright) - Date: 1908-07-23