Editing Eastern Townships

{{Short description|Region in south-eastern Quebec, Canada}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=November 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Coord|45.4814|N|71.6678|W|source:wikidata_region:CA-QU|display=title}}
[[Image:Townships.png|thumb|right|240px|Eastern Townships]]

The '''Eastern Townships''' ({{langx|fr|Cantons de l'Est}}, {{IPA|fr|kɑ̃tɔ̃ də lɛst|pron}}) is a historical administrative region in southeastern [[Quebec]], Canada. It lies between the [[Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands|St. Lawrence Lowlands]] and the American border, and extends from [[Granby, Quebec|Granby]] in the southwest to [[Drummondville]] in the northeast.<ref name="britannica">{{cite web |title=Eastern Townships |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Eastern-Townships |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=10 November 2020 |language=en}}</ref> Since 1987, most of the area is within the administrative region [[Estrie]], and the term Eastern Townships is now used in tourist literature.

The name derives from there also being western townships in [[Ontario]].{{cn|date=February 2025}}

==History==
[[File:Map of the eastern townships of Lower Canada drawn principally from actual survey for the British American Land Company (NYPL b20643859-5437631).jpg|thumb|1839 Map of the eastern townships of Lower Canada, drawn from actual survey]]
Before [[European colonization of the Americas|European colonization]] the area was inhabited by the [[Abenaki]], as attested by many toponyms such as [[Lake Memphremagog]] and [[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 [[List of former counties of Quebec|counties]], which were in turn subdivided into [[township (Canada)|townships]].

Settlement by Europeans happened in three waves: first from [[New England]], including some [[United Empire Loyalist|loyalists]],<ref>{{cite web |title=The Settlement of the Eastern Townships by Loyalists |url=http://www.etrc.ca/education/elementary-school/ |website=Eastern Townships Resource Centre |access-date=10 November 2020}}</ref> then from the British Isles, and finally French-Canadians from surrounding areas.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Morrill |first1=Victor Eugene |last2=Pierce |first2=Erastus G. |date=1917 |title=Men of Today in the Eastern Townships |url=https://archive.org/details/menoftodayineast00morruoft/page/n7/mode/2up |publisher=Sherbrooke Record Company |oclc=301514217}}</ref>

From 1967 to 1981 the Eastern Townships were an administrative region of Quebec, (région 05). In 1981 the [[Commission de toponymie du Québec]] renamed it Estrie. In 1987 during the reorganization of the [[Regional county municipality|regional county municipalities]], the region lost some territory:
* [[Arthabaska County, Quebec|Arthabaska]], [[Drummond Regional County Municipality|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, Quebec|Shefford]] and [[Missisquoi County, Quebec|Missisquoi]] moved to [[Montérégie]].
Although counties were abolished some survive as [[Regional county municipality|regional county municipalities]], including [[Arthabaska County, Quebec|Arthabaska]], [[Brome County, Quebec|Brome]], [[Compton County, Quebec|Compton]], [[Frontenac County, Quebec|Frontenac]], [[Missisquoi County, Quebec|Missisquoi]], and [[Shefford County, Quebec|Shefford]]. Townships which survive as municipalities include: [[Cleveland, Quebec|Cleveland]], [[Hampden, Quebec|Hampden]], [[Hatley, Quebec (township)|Hatley]], [[Lingwick, Quebec|Lingwick]], [[Marston, Quebec|Marston]], [[Melbourne, Quebec|Melbourne]], [[Orford, Quebec|Orford]], [[Memphrémagog Regional County Municipality|Memphrémagog]], [[Potton, Quebec|Potton]], [[Saint-Camille, Quebec|Saint-Camille]], [[Sainte-Edwidge-de-Clifton, Quebec|Sainte-Edwidge-de-Clifton]], [[Stanstead, Quebec (township)|Stanstead]], [[Stratford, Quebec|Stratford]], [[Thetford Mines, Quebec|Thetford]], [[Valcourt, Quebec (township)|Valcourt]], and [[Westbury, Quebec|Westbury]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Geography of Quebec]]
[[Category:Geographic regions of Quebec]]
[[Category:Tourism in Quebec]]
[[Category:Estrie]]