Les lacs de la fortune
Speaker: Michel Bélisle
When: Jeudi 18 mars 2027, 19:30 - 21:00
Where: Édifice Centennial,
288, boulevard Beaconsfield, Beaconsfield, H9W 4A4
Lecture in French followed by a bilingual question period
Lakes Saint-Louis and des Deux-Montagnes have fueled and shaped the extraordinary growth of the Montreal region. In the early 17th century, they became prime trading hubs for French, Indigenous, and English merchants engaged in the fur trade. Then, in the late 18th century, river trade flourished there, particularly through the transport of lumber for the English shipbuilding industry, and the establishment of steamboat companies that provided passenger service and supplied riverside communities. In the mid-19th century, these lakes became recreational destinations for the bourgeois elite, who built luxurious residences there. This influx of vacationers gave rise to a range of recreational activities on the lakes, notably through the development of sailing clubs and sailing competitions, which were very popular at major English universities.
Michel Bélisle, author and lecturer, was born in Montréal. He studied Anthropology - Ethnology at Université de Montréal, and Design & Environment at UQAM. He worked as assistant-curator at McCord Museum, curator at Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, curator at Trestler House in Vaudreuil-Dorion. He was guest curator for many special exhibitions and wrote several books on Montreal West-Island and Vaudreuil regions.
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