The Eastern Townships (french: Cantons de l'Est) is an historical administrative region in southeastern

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, Canada. It lies between the

St. Lawrence Lowlands ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

and the American border, and extends from Granby in the southwest, to Drummondville in the northeast. Since 1987, most of the area is within the administrative region Estrie, and the term Eastern Townships is now used in tourist literature. The name derives from there also being western townships in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

History

Before

European colonization The historical phenomenon of colonization is one that stretches around the globe and across time. Ancient and medieval colonialism was practiced by the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Turks, and the Arabs. Colonialism in the modern sense be ...

the area was inhabited by the

Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pre ...

, as attested by many toponyms such as Lake Memphremagog and

Massawippi River The Massawippi River is a river flowing in the territory of North Hatley (MRC de Memphrémagog) and the city of Sherbrooke, in the administrative region of Estrie, in Quebec, Canada. It is a tributary of the Saint-François River which flows nor ...

. Until 1791 the region was organized under the

seigneurial system of New France The manorial system of New France, known as the seigneurial system (french: Régime seigneurial), was the semi- feudal system of land tenure used in the North American French colonial empire. Both in nominal and legal terms, all French ter ...

. In 1791 the region was resurveyed under English law. It was divided into counties, which were in turn subdivided into townships. Settlement by Europeans happened in three waves: first from

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, including some loyalists, then from the British Isles, and finally French-Canadians from surrounding areas. From 1967 to 1981 the Eastern Townships were an administrative region of Quebec, (région 05). In 1981 the Commission de toponymie du Québec renamed it Estrie. In 1987 during the reorganization of the regional county municipalities, the region lost some territory: * Arthabaska, Drummond, and parts of the counties of Wolfe and of Mégantic, moved to

Centre-du-Québec Centre-du-Québec (, ''Central Quebec'') is a region of Quebec, Canada. The main centres are Drummondville, Victoriaville, and Bécancour. It has a land area of and a 2016 Census population of 242,399 inhabitants. Description The Centre-du ...

. * the other part of Mégantic moved to

Chaudière-Appalaches Chaudière-Appalaches () is an administrative region in Quebec, Canada. It comprises most of what is historically known as the " Beauce" (french: La Beauce; compare with the electoral district of Beauce). It is named for the Chaudière River and ...

* Shefford and Missisquoi moved to

Montérégie Montérégie () is an administrative region in the southwest part of Quebec. It includes the cities of Boucherville, Brossard, Châteauguay, Longueuil, Saint-Hyacinthe, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and Vaudreuil-Dorion. Th ...

. Although counties were abolished some survive as regional county municipalities, including Arthabaska, Brome, Compton, Frontenac, Missisquoi, and Shefford. Townships which survive as municipalities include:

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

, Hampden, Hatley,

Lingwick Lingwick is a township of about 400 people in Le Haut-Saint-François Regional County Municipality in the Estrie region of Quebec, Canada. It incorporates the former villages of Gould and Sainte-Marguerite. Demographics In the 2021 Census o ...

, Marston,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

, Orford, Memphrémagog,

Potton Potton is a town and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England, about east of the county town Bedford. Its population in 2011 was 4,870. In 1783 the Great Fire of Potton destroyed a large part of the town. T ...

, Saint-Camille, Sainte-Edwidge-de-Clifton, Stanstead, Stratford, Thetford, Valcourt, and Westbury.

References

{{Authority control Geography of Quebec Geographic regions of Quebec Tourism in Quebec Estrie