Québec Martello Towers

Four Martello towers, three of which remain, formed an integral part of the defences of Québec, a key to control of the continental interior of North America. Defensive works had been proposed on the Plains of Abraham since the early 1790s, but only after the Anglo-American crisis of 1807 did Governor Sir James Craig order construction of the towers. Built between 1808 and 1812, they were intended to prevent an attacker from drawing close enough to lay siege to the walls of Québec. Their effectiveness was never tested in battle, and they became obsolete in the 1860s.

Quebec · Canada