LANAUDIÈRE: REGION OF CULTURE AND HERITAGE
Lanaudière was one of the first land areas to be cleared for cultivation by the early French settlers. From 1637 to 1750, about a dozen seigneuries (lordly estates) were granted along the St. Lawrence River. Little by little, the emphasis shifted from fur trading to agriculture. "The Great Spirit" of the original pine forests still resides beneath the tobacco fields.
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