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French influence peaked in 17th-century Europe. While states waged war and
life at home was highly regimented, French fishermen and sailors, adventurers
and missionaries crossed the Atlantic. A land marked with the fleur de
lys was born, a child of North America and France, which still bears the unmistakable
traces of all those who chose to call this challenging place home. That
meant that life was in French, of course, as can be seen in the landscape and
architecture and the collections of many Quebec museums. As you explore
the countryside, towns and cities, notice how the fields extend
outward from the St. Lawrence, how parishes cluster around their churches, and
see the French influence on the architecture and interiors of many museums, manors,
churches, and farmhouses, all witnesses of this historic period. A
detail: the original façades of early homes face south, to let
the sun in. |
