Editing Bas-Saint-Laurent (section)

== Etymology and toponymy ==
The region takes its name from the Saint Lawrence River, a waterway that has a central role in the history of Quebec and forms the northern border of the region. The name of the river, and by extension the region, has a hagiotoponymic origin originating from the ''baye sainct Laurens'' named by [[Jacques Cartier]], originating from the date of discovery being 10 August 1535, day of the festival of [[Saint Lawrence]] in the Christian [[martyrology]]. The name of the bay was used again to describe the river when the ''Narration'', his report of his expedition, was translated to Spanish and Italian, and definitively fixed by its use in the world map of cartographer [[Gerardus Mercator]] in 1569, according to historian [[Marcel Trudel]].<ref>{{Cite web|author=Quebec|title=Saint Lawrence River|date=14 February 2013|url=http://www.toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/ToposWeb/fiche.aspx?no_seq=121375|access-date=4 December 2018}}</ref>

The name "Bas-Saint-Laurent", however, only appeared much later. In their ''Histoire du Bas-Saint-Laurent'', the historians Fortin and Lechasseur assert that the relation with the Saint Lawrence grew with the population of the region in the 19th century. The first mention of the name is attributed to a report from the Rimouskois deputy and writer [[Joseph-Charles Taché]], which used the term to describe "the two shores of the Bas-Saint-Laurent except the Gaspé district". The authors, however, write that Taché preferred most of the time to use more precise and well-known references, like the counties of Montmorency and Rimouski.{{sfn|Fortin|Lechasseur|1993|pp=17–18}}
Even if the name of the region was present on a map made in 1863 by Stanislas Drapeau, it took time to settle in; the expression "le Bas du Fleuve" being preferred.<ref name="CTQ_BSL">{{cite web |url=http://www.toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/ToposWeb/fiche.aspx?no_seq=227459 |title=Bas-Saint-Laurent |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=December 2018 |website=Commission de toponymie du Québec |access-date=4 December 2018}}</ref>

With the settlement of [[Témiscouata Regional County Municipality|Témiscouata]] and [[La Matapédia Regional County Municipality|la Matapédia]], the name start imposing itself between 1920 and 1960, when a number of enterprises and organisms of the region delimitated by the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rimouski]] and [[Rivière-du-Loup]], like the ''Compagnie de transport du Bas St-Laurent'' and the ''Compagnie de Pouvoir du Bas-Saint-Laurent'' or the newspaper ''l'Écho du Bas St-Laurent'' adopt it.{{sfn|Fortin|Lechasseur|1993|p=19}}

After being eclipsed for two decades when the State tried to erase regional differences by putting in place shared administrative structures east of the Quebec, the start of the 1980s sees this policy change,{{sfn|Fortin|Lechasseur|1993|p=20}} as the great region Bas-Saint-Laurent-[[Gaspé Peninsula|Gaspésie]] is split into two different territories,<ref name=CTQ_BSL /> being more accurate for the distinctive cultural traditions of these regions.{{sfn|Fortin|Lechasseur|1993|p=20}}

The evolution of the toponymy of the region takes root in the different steps of its development, with at first the initial settlement by [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]], followed by a progressive settlement by French-speaking colonists starting in the 18th century, but mostly in the 19th, a small Scottish presence starting in the 1800s, with activities centred on agriculture and the exploitation of its waters and forests. The last phase of this evolution took place when some inland communities started to decline and its centres of activity were reinforced.<ref name="paquetp301">{{cite book |last1=Pâquet |first1=Christiane |title=Itinéraire toponymique du Saint-Laurent ses rives et ses îles |date=1984 |publisher=Direction générale des publications gouvernementales du Ministères des communications; Commission de toponymie du Québec |location=Quebec |isbn= 2-551-06267-5 |page=301 |url=http://www.mddep.gouv.qc.ca/biodiversite/aires_protegees/provinces/ |access-date=6 December 2018 |language=fr}}</ref>