Discover the history of the Toronto area from the 1600s through to 1834, when the Old Town of York officially became the City of Toronto.

Toronto was incorporated as a city on March 6^th, 1834. However, there were hundreds of years of history before this. A talk on “earliest Toronto” explores the geological history of the area, aboriginal communities in the region, and French colonialism and trading around Toronto. This talk mostly focuses on the period between 1793 and 1834. This was the time of the Town of York – the small settlement that would eventually grow into the Victorian City of Toronto.

In addition to the more respectable elements of history from Georgian Era Toronto, you’ll also hear about some of the scandal. There were plots, intrigue, duels, invasions and attempts at outright revolution. This talk will introduce you to some of the luminaries and officials who helped to establish the British colonial outpost at York. They were a collection of leaders and military figures, educators, gamblers, journalists and duellists, and their biographies present an interesting glimpse of life in early Toronto.