Construction began in the early eighteenth century on a stone wall, punctuated by many gates and bastions, to protect the town. In order to pay for the work, taxes were levied on the town's residents and also those persons living in the vicinity who could seek shelter within the walls in case of war. The taxes gave rise to much protest, some of it rather violent. The fortifications never fulfilled their defensive function - in 1760 MontrÄal capitulated without resistance - but they did enhance the town's appearance. Under British rule the walls were allowed to deteriorate. This watercolour by George Heriot (1766-1844) dates from 1801 and illustrates the decrepit conditions before the structures fell to the wrecker's hammer. St Martin's Gate, also known as the Quebec Gate because it opened to the route for the capital, was the gate through which farmers to the east of MontrÄal entered in order to sell their produce at the market. Although this picture was painted forty years later, the carts leaving the city, the cows grazing below the walls and the canoes awaiting the voyageurs are among the details which probably had not changed significantly since the days of the French regime.
Courtesy: The National Gallery of Canada, National Museums of Canada
