After the fall of Québec in September 1759, Montreal* was the sole remaining French power center in Canada. The city was located on the Île de Montréal in the St. Lawrence River, not far from its confluence with the Ottawa River. The island’s most prominent feature was Mont-Royal, a hill that rose more than 600 feet above the water. It had been visited by Jacques Cartier in 1535 and Samuel de Champlain in 1603. The first real settlement occurred in 1642 with the establishment of a religious community, but the fur trade quickly surpassed all other matters in importance. The settlement was fortified in 1725 in the midst of a series of colonial wars between France and Britain. British General Jeffrey Amherst occupied Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point in the fall of 1759, but was unable to rendezvous with James Wolfe at Québec as planned. Instead, Amherst went into winter quarters in October and remained inactive until the following spring. At that time, a three-pronged offensive was put in motion with armies under Amherst, General James Murray and Colonel William Haviland converging on Montreal. With the city surrounded, the French had no viable options. Vaudreuil de Cavagnal surrendered on September 8, 1760, which ended the last major campaign of the French and Indian War.