II-85064 | City Council of Montreal, QC, composite, 1885, copied 1887
City Council of Montreal, QC, composite, 1885, copied 1887
Wm. Notman & Son
1887, 19th century
Silver salts on glass - Gelatin dry plate process
20 x 25 cm
Purchase from Associated Screen News Ltd.
II-85064
© McCord Museum
Description
Keywords: Art (2774) , composite (312) , Photograph (77678)
Keys to History
Interethnic tension reached a peak in 1885. A smallpox epidemic led to serious clashes, even riots, over the issue of compulsory vaccination. Some members of the upper classes, especially the English-speaking élite, were very much in favour, whereas part of the French-speaking population was resolutely against it. The same year, the hanging of Métis leader Louis Riel sparked strong reactions from French Canadians.
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What
This composite photograph shows the thirty or so councillors (three per ward) who, with the mayor, formed the Montreal Municipal Council in 1885.
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Where
The individuals have been placed in the setting of the city hall's municipal council chamber on Notre Dame Street.
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When
In 1885 the majority of council members were French-speaking. The council's greatest challenge that year was managing the crisis caused by the smallpox epidemic, which resulted in 3,234 deaths, in a city with a population of under 200,000.
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Who
The mayor of Montreal at the time was Honoré Beaugrand (1848-1906), a journalist and the owner of the daily La Patrie, which he had founded in 1879. A committed liberal, Beaugrand belonged to the radical movement that opposed the Ultramontanists, traditional Roman Catholics who believed in the supremacy of Church over State.
References
- Triggs, Stanley G. The Composite Photographs of William Notman, Montreal: McCord Museum of Canadian History, 1994
- Bliss, Michael, Plague: A Story of Smallpox in Montreal (Toronto: HarperCollins, 1991), 306 p.
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