Quebec 3New Beginnings in a “New World” Founded in 1608 as a fur trading post, Quebec was located on the site of the ancient Iroquois village of Stadacona, whose inhabitants had left long ago for unknown reasons. French explorer Samuel de Champlain chose the site for its prime location where the St. Charles River meets the St. Lawrence and where the St. Lawrence narrows to about a mile wide. The hilly promontory that rose sharply from the river's edge was an excellent topographical feature for defense purposes. To establish its own overseas colony in the "new world", France made the effort to establish a permanent settlement of its people in the St. Lawrence Valley. Harris (2008) writes that Quebec's existence “reflected the needs of a French government seeking to centralize its colonial administration and concentrate its soldiers in a few well-defended sites, of religious orders of administrative headquarters for their work, and of merchants for permanent offices.” operational bases…” (p. 67). When the roles of administration, defense, religious institution, and merchants combined, they attracted many other sectors of society. Craftsmen, shopkeepers, laborers and some manufacturers arrived in the newly installed village (Harris, p. 67). Quebec was now the center of French colonialism in North America, which lent itself to becoming the capital of New France. The center of French affairs in the Americas, Quebec became the administrative hub of the colony of New France. The city became the capital of the royal colony in 1663 due to its "deep-water port and transition point between sea and river navigation" (Harris, p. 67). It remained the capital of New France until 1763. In 1763, the French and......middle of paper......anada", according to its website, maintained one of its two headquarters in Lévis. Lévis is a suburb of Quebec on the southern shore of the St. Lawrence where it was founded. The other main office is in Montreal, where trading in international markets is more accessible. The company employs 4,000-7,500 people in the CMA (WL, 2007). . Works Cited Desjardins. and in About Us. Retrieved from http://www.desjardins.com/en/a_propos/qui-nous-sommes/Québec Real Estate Boards Employment Levels in Quebec first quarter of 2011. Île-des-Soeurs, Quebec: www.fciq.ca/pdf/.../PDF.../11_04_2011-employment_in_rmr.pdfService Canada (2011). Western Libraries . (2007). Canada's largest employers by city.