Montreal was captured from France by British forces in 1760 and subsequently came under British rule. Its surrender on 8 September 1760 effectively completed the British conquest of New France during the Seven Years’ War.
The Montreal campaign was a three-pronged British offensive led by Jeffery Amherst, James Murray, and William Haviland. French forces under the Marquis de Vaudreuil and François de Lévis could not defend the city against the converging armies. With Montreal lost, the French position in Canada became untenable, and the wider conflict ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763.
The city did not instantly become a separate British colony in the modern sense. Instead, it was incorporated into the British colony of Quebec, established by the Royal Proclamation of 1763. British authorities retained parts of the existing French civil-law and administrative traditions, helping Montreal remain a major commercial centre.
A common mix-up is with Quebec City, which the British captured in 1759. Quebec’s fall was decisive, but Montreal was the final major French stronghold to surrender in Canada the following year.