Eastern Townships
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The Eastern Townships (Template:Langx, Template:IPA) is a historical administrative region in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It lies between the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the American border, and extends from Granby in the southwest to Drummondville in the northeast.<ref name="britannica">Template:Cite web</ref> Its largest city is Sherbrooke. Since 1987, most of the area is within the administrative region of Estrie, which covers nearly 12,500 km² and is composed of eight regional county municipalities (MRCs) along with the city of Sherbrooke.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> With the exception of its eastern portion around Lake Mégantic and the upper Chaudière River, the region largely corresponds to the middle and upper basin of the Saint-François River, fed by major lakes such as Lake Memphrémagog, Lake Magog, Lake Massawippi, Lake Aylmer, and Grand Lake Saint-François.<ref name=":0" />
History
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The Abenaki, of the Wabanakiak First Nations, were the first inhabitants and lived in this geographic territory for centuries before European colonization.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref> Their ancestral land called Template:Lang,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> comprises land south of the St. Lawrence River, from the eastern seaboard of the Atlantic Ocean, to the Richelieu River, and northward to the Gaspé Peninsula.<ref name=":2" /> This is also attested by many toponyms such as Lake Memphremagog and the Massawippi River.
Until 1791 the region was organized under the seigneurial system of New France. In 1791 the region was resurveyed under English law. It was divided into counties, which were in turn subdivided into townships.
Settlement by Europeans happened in three waves: first from New England, including some loyalists,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> then from the British Isles, and finally French-Canadians from surrounding areas.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The proximity of the United States explains the arrival of Loyalists at the end of the eighteenth century, especially in the townships bordering Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.<ref name=":0" />
In 1792, the area was designated as the electoral county of Buckinghamshire.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The first of 95 townships to be granted was Dunham, established in 1796.<ref name="britannica" /> Followed by Potton, Bolton, and Brome all in 1797.<ref name=":2" /> Over the following years, the territory became known as the “Eastern Townships of Lower Canada”, in contrast to the “Western Townships” of Upper Canada, and by 1806 the name “Eastern Townships” was commonly used.<ref name="britannica" /> The French terminology shifted over time, first appearing as Template:Lang around 1833 and later as Template:Lang in 1858.<ref name="britannica" />
During the first half of the 19th century, the Eastern Townships developed into a distinctive anglophone society shaped by migration from New England as well as from the British Isles.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> Many of the earliest settlers were Loyalists or their descendants, joined later by other New England farmers seeking affordable land.<ref name=":1" /> They were followed in significant numbers by immigrants from Scotland, Ireland, and England, which created an unusually diverse population for a rural Quebec region.<ref name=":1" /> This mix of backgrounds fostered communities where English predominated for much of the century, setting the Townships apart from surrounding francophone districts.<ref name=":1" /> The settlement pattern also produced a diverse combination of small villages, family farms, and local markets, reflecting both American and British traditions.<ref name=":1" />
Religion reinforced this diversity. Protestant denominations, especially; Methodist, Baptist, and Anglican congregations, played a major role in village life, building schools, churches, and community institutions.<ref name=":1" /> At the same time, French Canadian Catholics gradually migrated into the region from neighboring parishes, altering the balance by the late nineteenth century.<ref name=":1" /> The coexistence of these groups often created a “borderland” identity, where loyalties and traditions overlapped.<ref name=":1" /> By the turn of the twentieth century, the Townships were no longer overwhelmingly anglophone.<ref name=":1" />
From 1967 to 1981 the Eastern Townships were an administrative region of Quebec (Template:Lang). In 1981 the Template:Lang renamed it Template:Lang.<ref name="britannica" /> The toponym Template:Lang had first been proposed in 1946 by Monsignor Maurice O’Bready, then secretary-general of the Template:Lang (today the Sherbrooke History Museum).<ref name=":0" /> He derived it from the root Template:Lang combined with the suffix Template:Lang, found in old Romance toponyms such as Template:Lang, and explained it as evoking both 'east' and a 'fertile land'.<ref name=":0" /> The term Template:Lang officially replaced Template:Lang in 1981, though its usage continues to generate debate.<ref name=":0" />
In 1987 during the reorganization of the regional county municipalities, the region lost some territory:
- Arthabaska, Drummond, and parts of the counties of Wolfe and of Mégantic, moved to Centre-du-Québec.
- the other part of Mégantic moved to Chaudière-Appalaches
- Shefford and Missisquoi moved to Montérégie.
Although counties were abolished some survive as regional county municipalities, including Arthabaska, Brome, Compton, Frontenac, Missisquoi, and Shefford. Townships which survive as municipalities include: Cleveland, Hampden, Hatley, Lingwick, Marston, Melbourne, Orford, Memphrémagog, Potton, Saint-Camille, Sainte-Edwidge-de-Clifton, Stanstead, Stratford, Thetford, Valcourt, and Westbury.
Today, the tourist region marketed as the Template:Lang generally corresponds to the modern Estrie administrative region, while the historical definition of the Eastern Townships is broader, extending from the Richelieu River to the Beauce and including areas now part of Template:Lang and Template:Lang.<ref name=":0" />
Notable people with a connection to the Eastern Townships
See also
- Bishop's University
- Demographics of Quebec
- Eastern Townships School Board
- Elmwood Cemetery (Sherbrooke)
- Harry Kendall Thaw
- History of Quebec
- Irish Quebecers
- Scots-Quebecers
References
Further reading
- Quebec's Eastern Townships and The World. A Region and Its Global Connections. Cheryl L. Gosselin, Andrew C. Holman, and Christopher Kirkey. McGill-Queen's University Press. 2024.