Plains of Abraham

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Plains of Abraham
Plains of Abraham in summer
Location	Quebec City, Canada
Coordinates	46°47′59″N 71°13′15″W / 46.79972, -71.22083
Area	108 acres (43.7 ha)
Established	1908-03-17
Governing body	National Battlefields Commission

The Plains of Abraham is an historic 108 acre (44 ha) plateau within The Battlefields Park in Quebec City, Canada, located just outside the Citadelle of Quebec and the walls of Quebec City.

The plains are named after Abraham Martin, called "the Scot", (1589-1664), a fisherman and river pilot, who brought his animals to graze there as he owned land near the area of the current park. The use of the name certainly seems to have been popular at the time among the military and the English. The name of Abraham appears in the toponymy of Quebec City from the French regime. The deeds of the 17th and 18th centuries refer to the coast of Abraham and a 1734 plan even precisely locates an Abraham Street. The first references to the current area's name are from military documents, the journals of the Chevalier de Levis and the Marquis de Montcalm refer to the "Heights of Abraham". The journals of British soldiers during the days surrounding the Battle of the Plains of Abraham mention the "Heights of Abraham" or "Plains of Abraham".^[1]

A Martello tower overlooking the Cap Diamant and St. Lawrence River

On 13 September 1759, the land was the scene of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in the Seven Years' War in which the British army, under General James Wolfe, climbed the steep cliff under the city in darkness, surprising and beating the French. Both Wolfe and the French commander Montcalm died of their wounds but the battle left control of Quebec City to the British, which would allow them to take control of New France the following year with the surrender of Montreal despite the victory of the Chevalier de Levis over General James Murray on 28 April 1760. With the Treaty of Paris in 1763, France consequently renounced possession of Canada, Acadia, and Louisiana.

Crowd at the Place de la Famille, a Quebec Winter Carnival site on the Plains of Abraham

The park became the first National Historic Site of Canada on 17 March 1908 under the auspices of the National Battlefields Commission, a gift from the Canadian federal government to Quebec City for its 300^th anniversary. The site has become the city park section of Quebec City, the National Battlefields Commission comparing its use to that of Central Park in New York City and Hyde Park in London. The parks are used by 4 million visitors and tourists annually for sports, relaxation, outdoor concerts, and festivals, especially during Fête nationale du Québec celebrations, the Quebec Winter Carnival, and the Quebec City Summer Festival.