CChronica Maps

Montreal: History, Former Names & Timeline

Island city on the St Lawrence, centre of the fur trade of New France and today Canada’s second city.

Map showing Montreal in 1700Montreal
Border map for 1700. See the world in 1700.

Explore Montreal in the interactive map

Embed this interactive map on your site

Free to use on blogs, school pages and course sites. Copy the code below; please keep the credit line.

Former names of Montreal

FromNameNote
1535HochelagaIroquoian village
1642Ville-Marie / Montréal

Timeline of Montreal

YearEvent
1535Jacques Cartier visits Hochelaga
1642Maisonneuve founds Ville-Marie
1701New France and the First Nations sign the Great Peace of Montreal
1760The French surrender Montreal to the British
1775The American Continental Army briefly occupies Montreal
1967Montreal hosts the World’s Fair

Who ruled Montreal

Derived from the border maps; each row runs until the next recorded border change.

PeriodState
500 BC–101 BCEastern North American hunter-gatherers
100 BC–599Point Peninsula
600–1491Eastern North American hunter-gatherers
1492–1499Ho-de-no-sau-nee-ga (Haudenosaunee)
1500–1599Huron
1600–1649Subarctic forest hunter-gatherers
1650–1782New France
1783–1814Quebec
1815–todayCanada

Famous people of Montreal

LivedPerson
c. 1574 – 1635Samuel de ChamplainExplorer

Nearby cities

Questions about Montreal

What was Montreal called in the past?

Montreal has been known as Hochelaga (from 1535, Iroquoian village); Ville-Marie / Montréal (from 1642). Its present name dates from 1642.

Which states have ruled Montreal?

On the historical border maps from 500 BC to today, Montreal lies within 8 different states: Eastern North American hunter-gatherers, Point Peninsula, Ho-de-no-sau-nee-ga (Haudenosaunee), Huron, Subarctic forest hunter-gatherers, New France, Quebec, Canada.

What are the key dates in the history of Montreal?

1535: Jacques Cartier visits Hochelaga. 1642: Maisonneuve founds Ville-Marie. 1701: New France and the First Nations sign the Great Peace of Montreal. 1760: The French surrender Montreal to the British. 1775: The American Continental Army briefly occupies Montreal.

Which famous people are connected with Montreal?

Samuel de Champlain (explorer, c. 1574 – 1635).