The region that is now Quebec was occupied by prehistoric Indians as early as 10,000 years ago, and was continuously inhabited by various nomadic tribes. Archeological evidence indicates that there was a Viking settlement on the Ungava Peninsula in the 12th century. The French arrived in the 16th century, and they found throughout hat is now Quebec scattered groups of Algonquin-speaking people, chiefly the Algonquin and Montagnais Indians.

Important dates in Quebec
1534 Jacques Cartier reached the Gulf of St. Lawrence and claimed the Quebec region for France.
1608 Samuel de Champlain established Quebec City, the first permanent European settlement in Canada.
1663 King Louis XIV of France made the Quebec region a royal province.
1759 The British captured Quebec City during the French and Indian War.
1763 Britain acquired Quebec by the Treaty of Paris.
1774 The British Parliament approved the Quebec Act, extending Quebec's borders and establishing French-Canadian political and religious rights.
1791 The Constitutional Act divided Quebec into the colonies of Upper Canada and Lower Canada.
1841 The Act of Union joined Upper Canada and Lower Canada under one government.
1867 The British North America Act created the Dominion of Canada, forming the province of Quebec.
1912 Quebec nearly doubled in size by acquiring territory east of Hudson Bay.
1927 The British Privy Council set the present Quebec-Labrador boundary.
1963 The provincial government bought all privately owned electric power companies.
1967 Expo 67, a world's fair, was held in Montreal as part of Canada's centennial celebration.
1974 The Quebec legislature made French the only official language of the province.
1976-1985 The Parti Quebecois, a separatist political party, controlled the provincial legislature.
1990 The Meech Lake accord, a constitutional amendment that would have recognized Quebec as a distinct society, failed to pass all 10 provincial legislatures.
1995 Quebec voters narrowly rejected a referendum proposal that called for independence for Quebec.