page_title: Plains of Abraham
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Plains of Abraham / History
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Représentation des plaines d'Abraham par J. Peachey, 1784 patwhite.com
context_page_description: The Plains of Abraham is a historic area within The Battlefields Park in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. 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. 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.
context_section_description: On September 13, 1759, the area was the scene of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, part of the French and Indian War, which was itself part of the Seven Years' War. On that date, British soldiers under the command of General Wolfe, climbed the steep cliff under the city in darkness, surprising and defeating the 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. Only in 1901 did government intervention come, when the proposed subdivision of 88 acres (360,000 m²) of the region was halted by the purchase of the land by the 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 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 the Empire."
  The 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 Canadian history. The 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 National Historic Site in Canada and was placed under the auspices of the newly and specifically formed National Battlefields Commission, 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. Finally, on 24 July 1908, the King's eldest son, Prince George, Prince of Wales (later George V), dedicated the Quebec Battlefields Park at the Plains of Abraham, then presenting the title deeds of the lands to the Governor General. 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." 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.
  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 in London. It has thus seen various events staged on it, most regularly during the Fête nationale du Québec, the Quebec Winter Carnival, and the Quebec City Summer Festival.
caption: The Plains of Abraham, 1784
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