Ottawa's History
Much like vast locales in Canada, the area in the vicinity of present Ottawa was inhabited by Native Americans, particularly the Algonquin people, before the arrival of the Europeans.
In 1800, Philemon Wright founded Wrightville, the first European settlement in the region. The farmer and entrepreneur discovered for himself the lucrative business of transporting timber by river from the Ottawa Valley to Montreal. Soon, the area around Wrightville was booming due to the timber trade. Wrightville later became Hull (Gatineau), Quebec. For his achievements, Wright is regarded today as the founder of the city of Ottawa.
The population in the region increased upon the completion of the Rideau Canal, which is the oldest continuously operated canal system in the continent. Colonel John By supervised the construction of the canal and in the process founded the settlement called Bytown.
In 1855, Bytown was renamed Ottawa. Two years later, Queen Victoria of the British Empire chose the city as the capital of the province of Canada. The choice was made partly due to Ottawa's location in between Toronto in the West and Quebec in the East.
Presently, Ottawa is Canada's capital and fourth largest city, and has a population of more than 800,000.