Clearing of a concession

Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve granted the first concessions in 1648, however, it is only when settlers arrived by the hundreds in 1653 and 1659 that Ville-Marie (Montreal) truly began to develop. Despite the hardships due to the lack of manpower and Iroquois attacks, the men built houses and cleared the land. The first horned beasts of burden were imported to New France by Samuel de Champlain in 1619 and the first horses arrived in 1665.