actually, ville-marie, the name of the first settlement, it started here in 1642. you've got the saint lawrence river right ahead of us. so it created a v-shaped piece of land, very convenient, surrounded by fresh water. so they thought, "hey, it's the perfect place. let's call it home." the first purpose, and i quote here, was "to convert the savages of the new world" to catholicism. so this was a religion-based settlement. >> nathalie, we didn't have to go far from the monument to the first settlers to find a little bit of history. >> what you're looking at is the signature of the head chiefs of the amerindian tribe that were in the area. so in 1701, the governor of montreal invites those tribe to come to ville-marie in order to sign a peace treaty that would allow an easier type of commerce between the settlers and, of course, the amerindian. >> well, so before montreal could become the great commercial center with a port, it had to start somewhere. it's always good to start with a little peace. >> usually is. >> you know, nathalie, ever since those early days o