The Outaouais is a poorly known Québec region. Perhaps this comes from being a border area that has existed, according to many, in the shadow of Ottawa, the federal capital. Yet its history has been in the thick of all the great turning points of Québec's history. The river that gave the region its name was already during the Amerindian period a great trade route through eastern North America, before becoming a highway for voyageurs and fur traders. In the 19th century, the same river was central to the forest industry and the timber trade.