Where did the Gaels settle in Canada?
Emigrant ships docked in a number of ports. They included Québec Town, Pictou, Charlottetown in Prince Edward Island, Sydney in Cape Breton Island, Saint John and Miramichi in New Brunswick, and Halifax in Nova Scotia. Québec was the main port for emigrants to Canada. Immigrants were required to spend some time at the quarantine station at Grosse Île. This was located in the St Lawrence River in Québec. The quarantine station at Grosse Île was in operation between 1832 and 1937. This compulsory stopover for all incoming passenger ships helped to stop the spread of the three deadly diseases of the age: cholera, smallpox and typhus. All immigrants had to have their bodies, their clothes and their belongings disinfected. The building at Grosse Île was used until a new centre was set up in 1893. After disinfection, immigrants had to stay either in a hotel, classed according to the level of passage paid for, or in a hospital. Hundreds of immigrants shared the same space on this tiny island
