Plains of Abraham

The plains of Abraham are plains in Quebec City famous for a battle that was fought there in 1759. They were named for Champlain's navigator.

In the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, the British under General James Wolfe defeated the French under the Marquis de Montcalm. The British scaled cliffs to bring a force into position for an attack on the town, and the French chose to meet them in fields on the outskirts. Both generals were killed; the two seconds-in-command negotiated the surrender of Quebec. They conducted the negotiation in Gaelic since both were Scots.

This was the key victory in the British conquest of the French colony of Quebec. Quebec remained a British colony from then until it became a province of Canada in 1867.

Today, the area is a park near the center of the city.