After the Conquest of 1759, when the British army conquered New France, Québec City came under the rule of Great Britain. Newly integrated into the British Empire, the city was the scene of yet another conflict in 1775, the year the American Revolutionary War began. One of the first confrontations of this war took place in Québec City, where the British army resisted an attack by American revolutionaries before driving them back south.

Once the United States gained its independence in 1783, Québec City grew increasingly important as one of the last colonial cities still under British control in North America. During this tumultuous period, the people of Québec City gradually rebuilt their shattered town.