Toronto history

Initially claimed by the French in the 18th century, it was not until the American Revolution caused hordes of United Empire Loyalists (loyal to the British) to escape to Toronto that the city became an established settlement. Then known as York, the town was exceedingly British in character, functioning as the administrative capital of English-speaking Upper Canada and becoming a thriving manufacturing centre by the 19th century. In 1834, the city was renamed Toronto, a Huron Indian word meaning 'meeting place'.

The Toronto of the 19th and early 20th centuries was a law-abiding city, where rules were made and rarely broken and where the overriding concern was making money. As such, Toronto gained a reputation as a conservative, boring enclave of Protestantism, a reputation that still dogs it to some extent today. Older residents can remember the days when the city would come to a standstill on Sundays and only a handful of the very best restaurants served wine.

Towards the end of the 1950s, a surge in the arrival of immigrants infused Toronto with new foods, new languages and, most importantly, new attitudes. Italians, Portuguese and Eastern Europeans arrived first, followed by immigrants from the Caribbean, Asia and India. They settled into what would become the city'sgreat ethnic neighbourhoods - Greektown, Little Italy and Chinatown. Toronto gradually developed a multiethnic North American character - today, one in two of the city's residents was born outside Canada.

It largely shrugged off its colonial identity, although vestiges still remain, such as the English-style pubs and the ingrained habit among conservative clubs and societies oftoasting the Queen before eating. There is a similar juxtaposition in the architecture of the city itself; at first glance, Toronto does not appear all that different from any other large American city, albeit a clean one, although closer inspection reveals preservedVictorian and Edwardian buildings and a profusion of neighbourhood pubs.