The Remarkable History of the Archaeological Site of St Anne's Market and the Parliament of the Province of CanadaFew people today remember that Montréal was actually the capital of Canada from 1844 to 1849–or, more accurately, the capital of the “Province of Canada,” as the British government had named its colony.Parliament at the time sat in an imposing greystone building, erected in 1834 atop a small canalized river, then renovated: the former St Anne's Market. The cries of butchers, fishmongers and greengrocers in the public market were replaced by the subdued scratching of functionaries' quills on parchment and, just upstairs, the occasionally raucous debates by members of the Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council. But on the evening of April 25, 1849, the roar of flames was heard instead, as rioters burned down the building!These different lives of what is now part of Place D'Youville, in Old Montréal, remained hidden underground until archaeological excavations brought them back to light. Now you can relive this little-known episode of the history of Montréal, Québec and Canada, a surprising, exciting and eventful story told in this collective work by dedicated historians and archaeologists brought together by Pointe-à-Callière.