The greatest commercial city of Canada, on an island in the St. Lawrence, at the confluence of the Ottawa River, 150 m. above Quebec, is the centre of railway communication with the whole Dominion and the States, connected by water with all the shipping ports on the great lakes, and does an enormous import and export trade; its principal shipment is grain; it is the chief banking centre, has the greatest universities (M'Gill and a branch of Laval), hospitals, and religious institutions, and pursues boot and shoe, clothing, and tobacco manufactures; more than half the population is French and Roman Catholic, and the education of Protestant and Roman Catholic children is kept distinct; founded in 1642 by the French, Montreal passed to Britain in 1760; in 1776 it was occupied by the revolting colonies, but recovered next year, and since then has had a steady career of prosperity and advancement.