Fall of Montreal
In September 1760, three British armies converged simultaneously on Montreal, the last significant French stronghold in Canada. General Amherst advanced from Lake Ontario with 11,000 troops; General Murray moved up the St. Lawrence from Quebec with 3,800; Colonel Haviland came north from Crown Point with 3,500. The Marquis de Vaudreuil, governor of New France, recognised that further resistance was futile against a converging force of nearly 19,000 against his 2,000 regulars and militia. He surrendered Montreal on 8 September 1760 under terms that granted French residents the right to practise their Catholic religion, retain their property, and be governed by French civil law. These Articles of Capitulation — confirmed and extended by the Treaty of Paris — established the legal and religious framework for Quebec that persists to the present day, making the 1760 surrender documents foundational texts of Canadian constitutional history.
- Year: 1760 CE
- Category: Political
