Editing Plains of Abraham

{{Short description|Battlefield park in Québec City, Canada}}
{{distinguish|Abrams Plains}}
{{See also|Heights of Abraham (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox protected area 
| name            = Plains of Abraham
| iucn_category   = 
| photo           = Plaines d'Abraham et Château Frontenac.jpg
| photo_caption   = Plains of Abraham in summer 
| photo_width     = 288
| location        = [[Quebec City, Quebec]], Canada
| nearest_city    = 
| coordinates     = {{coord|46|47|59|N|71|13|15|W|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| area_ha         = 98
| area_ref        = <ref>{{cite web| url=http://ccbn-nbc.gc.ca/en/access-information/eng-info-source/| last=National Battlefields Commission| title=Info Source > Responsibilities| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=16 October 2014| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021163711/http://ccbn-nbc.gc.ca/en/access-information/eng-info-source/| archive-date=21 October 2014}}</ref>
| established     = 17 March 1908
| visitation_num  = 
| visitation_year = 
| governing_body  = National Battlefields Commission ([[Monarchy of Canada|Canadian Crown]])
}}

The '''Plains of Abraham''' ({{langx|fr|Plaines d'Abraham}}) is a historic area within [[the Battlefields Park]] in [[Quebec City, Quebec]], [[Canada]]. It was established on 17 March 1908. The land is the site of the [[Battle of the Plains of Abraham]], which took place on 13 September 1759, but hundreds of acres of the fields became used for [[grazing]], housing, and minor industrial structures.<ref>{{Cite book| last=Wood| first=William| publication-date=1911| contribution=Tercentennial Quebec| contribution-url=http://www.ourroots.ca/e/page.aspx?id=424718| editor-last=Doughty| editor-first=A.G.| editor2-last=Wood| editor2-first=William| title=The King's Book of Quebec| pages=137–138| publication-place=Ottawa| publisher=The Mortimer Co. Ltd.| access-date=20 July 2009}}</ref> Only in 1908 was the land ceded to Quebec City, though administered by the specifically created and federally-run [[National Battlefields Commission]]. The park is today used by 4 million visitors and tourists annually for sports, relaxation, outdoor concerts, and festivals.

==Plains of Abraham Museum==

The Plains of Abraham Museum serves as the park's information and reception centre. It features a multi-media exhibition about the siege of Quebec and the 1759 and 1760 battles of the Plains of Abraham.<ref>{{cite web|title=Battles: 1759-1760|url=http://www.ccbn-nbc.gc.ca/en/exhibitions/battles-1759-1760/|publisher=National Battlefield Commission|access-date=1 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315133501/http://www.ccbn-nbc.gc.ca/en/exhibitions/battles-1759-1760/|archive-date=15 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Other displays feature the history of the site through archaeological artifacts found in the park. Open year-round and located at 835 Wilfrid-Laurier Avenue, the museum serves as the starting point for tours and includes a gift shop.

==Name and features==
[[File:Plaque des premiers colons de Quebec.jpg|thumb|right|Plaque honouring the first settlers of Québec City, including Abraham Martin. (Affixed to back of monument to {{ill|Guillaume Couillard (settler)|fr|Guillaume Couillard|lt=Guillaume Couillard}}, which accompanies those to [[Louis Hébert]] and [[Marie Rollet]].) [[Parc Montmorency]], [[Québec City]].]] The plains are likely named after Abraham Martin (also known as L'Écossais) (1589–1664), a fisherman and river pilot called ''The Scot''. Martin moved to Quebec City in 1635 with his wife Marguerite Langlois and received {{cvt|32|acre}} of land divided between the lower town and promontory from the Company of New France.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.ccbn-nbc.gc.ca/en/history-heritage/site-history/illustrious-park/| title=An illustrious park| work=National Battlefield Commission| access-date=4 April 2014}}</ref> Abraham's name appears in the [[toponymy]] of Quebec City at the time of the [[New France|French regime]], the deeds of the 17th and 18th centuries referring to the coast of Abraham, and a 1734 plan even precisely locating an Abraham Street. Later, the journals of the [[Francis de Gaston, Chevalier de Levis|Chevalier de Levis]] and the [[Louis-Joseph de Montcalm|Marquis de Montcalm]] referred to the ''Heights of Abraham'', as did the diaries of British soldiers, who also employed the phrase ''Plains of Abraham''.<ref>{{cite journal| editor-last=Mathieu| editor-first=Jacques | year=1992| title=Les plaines d'Abraham. Le culte de l'idéal| journal=Septentrion}}</ref>

[[File:Plaine abraham quebec.jpg|thumb|left|Looking toward the [[Château Frontenac]] and over the [[Saint Lawrence River]]]]
The park itself currently occupies an area approximately {{cvt|2.4|km}} long by {{cvt|0.8|km}},<ref name=Wood1911>{{Harvnb| Wood| 1911| p=155}}</ref> {{convert|98|ha}} that extends westward from the [[Citadelle of Quebec]] and the [[Ramparts of Quebec City|walls of Quebec City]] along a [[plateau]] above the [[Saint Lawrence River]], and forms a part of [[The Battlefields Park]]. An interpretive centre and walking trails have been built on the site, and [[monument]]s commemorate the [[Battle of Sainte-Foy]] and [[James Wolfe]], the latter being an astronomic meridian marker raised in 1790 by the Surveyor-General of Canada, Major Holland, on the site where Wolfe was said to have died.

In 1913, the National Battlefields Commission placed a column identical to one that had been built on the site in 1849, and a replica [[Cross of Sacrifice]] was constructed on the plains to commemorate soldiers who were lost in [[World War I]]; it continues to be the location of [[Remembrance Day]] ceremonies every year.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.ccbn-nbc.gc.ca/_en/histoire.php| last=The National Battlefields Commission| title=Plains of Abraham > History of the Park| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=21 July 2009| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212183641/http://www.ccbn-nbc.gc.ca/_en/histoire.php| archive-date=12 February 2009}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Plaines d'Abraham 1784.png|thumb|right|The Plains of Abraham, 1784]]
[[File:Image taken from page 207 of 'The Great Battles of the British Army. ... With coloured illustrations. (New edition.)' (11181233274).jpg|thumb|Wolfe on the Heights of Abraham (from an 1885 book)]]
On September 13, 1759, the area was the scene of the [[Battle of the Plains of Abraham]], part of the [[French and Indian War]] (1754–63), which preceded, then became a theatre of, the [[Seven Years' War]] (1756–63). On that date, [[British Army|British soldiers]] under the command of General Wolfe, climbed the steep cliff under the city in darkness, surprising and defeating the [[French army|French]], through a single deadly volley of musket fire, causing the battle to be over within 30 minutes. Both Wolfe and the French commander, the Marquis de Montcalm, died of their wounds, but the battle left control of Quebec City to the British, eventually allowing them to take control of Canada the following year.

The plains thereafter remained nondescript fields, with only a monument to Wolfe as a reminder of the events that took place. As Quebec City grew, development of the plains took place unabated, and hundreds of acres were built over.<ref name=Wood1911 /> Only in 1901 did government intervention come, when the proposed subdivision of {{convert|88|acre}} of the area was halted by the purchase of the land by the [[Monarchy of Canada|Dominion Crown]]. At the same time, however, another area of the plains was taken and, despite public protest, covered by a [[Ross rifle]] factory, which included a water tank built upon an existing [[Martello tower]]. A movement to preserve the site continued, nonetheless, and by 1904, the [[Literary and Historical Society of Quebec]] was permitted by the federal government to put up plaques at various significant spots around the vicinity. The following year, a proposal for the establishment of an Historic Landmarks Association was placed before the [[Royal Society of Canada]] and [[Governor General of Canada|Governor General]] [[Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey|the Earl Grey]] initiated his plan to preserve the battlefields, having visited the site and stating that he "would never rest until such sacred ground became the heirloom of all Canada and [[British Empire|the Empire]]."<ref>{{Harvnb| Wood| 1911| pp=137–141}}</ref>
[[Image:Prince of Wales presenting Title  Deeds to Earl Grey, Quebec Tercentenary - close up.jpg|thumb|left|[[George V|Prince George, Prince of Wales]], presents the title deeds of the Plains of Abraham to [[Governor General of Canada|Governor General]] [[Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey|the Earl Grey]] at the tercentenary of Quebec City in 1908]]

The [[List of mayors of Quebec City|Mayor of Quebec City]], [[Jean-Georges Garneau]], in 1908 appointed a landmark commission under the chairmanship of Chief Justice of the [[Quebec Superior Court]] [[François Langelier]]. Amongst its recommendations for permanently recording the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City, the group called for a nationalization of the Quebec battlefields and the construction of a museum of [[History of Canada|Canadian history]]. The [[Prime Minister of Canada|federal prime minister]] at the time, [[Wilfrid Laurier]], suggested, however, that a preservation of the plains themselves would be a more fitting tribute, thus falling in line with the desires of the Earl Grey, who in January had travelled to Quebec to see whether the site could be dedicated as a part of the tercentenary celebrations. By 17 March, the park was created, becoming the first [[List of National Historic Sites of Canada|National Historic Site]] in Canada and was placed under the auspices of the newly and specifically formed [[National Battlefields Commission]],<ref>{{Harvnb| Wood| 1911| pp=141–144}}</ref> a group that, following the lead of [[Edward VII]], began to collect historical data relating to the plains and the battles that took place on them.<ref>{{Harvnb| Wood| 1911| p=152}}</ref> Finally, on 24 July 1908, the King's eldest son, Prince George, Prince of Wales (later [[George V]]), dedicated the [[The Battlefields Park|Quebec Battlefields Park]] at the Plains of Abraham, then presenting the title deeds of the lands to the Governor General.<ref>{{Harvnb| Wood| 1911| p=166}}</ref> The events were popular with Quebec residents, leading Laurier to opine that Quebecers were "monarchical by religion, by habit, and by the remembrance of past history."<ref>{{cite journal|last=Toporoski |first=Richard |title=The Invisible Crown |journal=Monarchy Canada |volume=Summer 1998 |publisher=Monarchist League of Canada |location=Toronto |year=1998 |url=http://www.monarchist.ca/mc/invisibl.htm |access-date=5 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416113518/http://www.monarchist.ca/mc/invisibl.htm |archive-date=April 16, 2009 }}</ref> The official memorial record of the anniversary was titled ''The King's Book of Quebec''; with the assent of the King (by then George V), the volume was published in 1911.<ref>{{Cite book| last=Grey| first=Albert| author-link=Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey| publication-date=1911| contribution=Preface| contribution-url=http://www.ourroots.ca/e/page.aspx?id=424532| editor-last=Doughty| editor-first=A.G.| editor2-last=Wood| editor2-first=William| title=The King's Book of Quebec| year=1911| page=I| publication-place=Ottawa| publisher=The Mortimer Co. Ltd.| access-date=20 July 2009| isbn=978-0-665-71157-2}}</ref>
[[Image:Carnaval de Québec - place de la famille - 2006-02.JPG|thumb|right|A crowd at the ''Place de la Famille'', a [[Quebec Winter Carnival]] site on the Plains of Abraham]]

One final major, but less obvious, alteration to the original park happened between 1931 and 1933 when a drinking water reservoir was constructed under the park. Near every bit of soil was removed and then later replaced: "The reservoir was built between 1931 and 1933. Its base lies about two metres under the surface of the Plains, and it contains about 136 million litres of water. Situated on one of Quebec City’s highest points, it provides drinking water to the districts of Saint-Roch, Saint-Sauveur, Champlain and parts of Saint-Jean-Baptiste and Limoilou. Its vault is supported by some 900 columns and surmounted by about 20 supply grilles camouflaged by bunches of shrubs."<ref>[https://www.ccbn-nbc.gc.ca/en/history-heritage/site-history/park-the-city/#reservoir A park in the city: Municipal reservoir– 1931-1933]</ref>

The site has become an urban park within Quebec City; the National Battlefields Commission has compared its use to that of [[Central Park]] in [[New York City]] and [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]] in [[London]]. It has thus seen various events staged on it, most regularly during the ''[[National Holiday (Quebec)|Fête nationale du Québec]]'', the [[Quebec Winter Carnival]], and the [[Quebec City Summer Festival]].

==Recognition==
On 10 September 1959, Canada Post issued ''Plains of Abraham, 1759–1959'', designed by Ephrum Philip Weiss with a picture engraved by Yves Baril and lettering engraved by Donald J. Mitchell. The 5¢ stamps are perforated 12 and were printed by Canadian Bank Note Company.<ref>[http://data4.collectionscanada.gc.ca/netacgi/nph-brs?s1=(art.ANYP.)+Or+(art.ANYI.+And+null.B742.)&l=50&d=STMP&p=1&u=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/archivianet/02011702_e.html&r=9&f=G&Sect1=STMP Canada Post stamp]</ref>{{full citation needed| date=October 2014}}

The site is mentioned in the 1975 song "[[Acadian Driftwood]]", by [[The Band]], as well as in the song "The Maker", by [[Daniel Lanois]]. Gordon Lightfoot mentions the site in "Nous Vivons Ensemble" (1971). [[Geddy Lee]] mentions the site in his song "My Favourite Headache" from his [[My Favourite Headache|solo album]] of the same name (2000).

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.ccbn-nbc.gc.ca/en/ Plains of Abraham] - official site at [[National Battlefields Commission]]
* [http://1759.ccbn-nbc.gc.ca/ 1759: From the Warpath to the Plains of Abraham] virtual museum
* [http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/gallery1/clash_e.shtml  Clash of Empires and The Battle of the Plains of Abraham – The Canadian War Museum]
* {{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Abraham, Plains of |short=x}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category: Seven Years' War]]
[[Category:Landforms of Quebec]]
[[Category:Parks in Quebec City]]