Gaspe claims the title of "Cradle of French America", because on July 24, 1534, Jacques Cartier halted in the bay after losing an anchor during a storm and officially took possession of the area by planting a wooden cross with the king's coat of arms and the sentence Vive le Roi de France (meaning "Long live the King of France"). Cartier met there an indigenous tribe that referred to the territory as Honguedo, probably a Mi'kmaq word meaning "meeting place".
Following the Treaty of Paris in 1763, British officers and soldiers acquired free land in Gaspe. And in 1784, they were joined by many Loyalist settlers. From then on, Gaspe became an important commercial fishing centre, especially of cod. In 1804, its post office opened.
Gaspe was first incorporated as a village municipality in 1855. From 1861 to 1866, the port of Gaspe was a duty-free port, making shipping the primary economic activity. With some 40 to 50 European ships docking annually, many countries opened consulates in Gaspe, including Italy, United States, Brazil, Portugal, and Norway. By 1911, the railroad reached Gaspe. But the town's ambition to become an international shipping and transportation hub ended with the growing importance of the Montreal and Halifax harbours.
During World War II, some 3000 soldiers were stationed at a naval base built at Sandy Beach, in order to patrol the Gulf of Saint Lawrence against German submarines.
In 1959, Gaspe gained city status. In 1971, the city was greatly expanded when it amalgamated these 11 surrounding municipalities (with year of original incorporation):
* Bay-de-Gaspe-Nord (1855)
* Bay-de-Gaspe-Sod (1855)
* Douglas (1855)
*Grande-Grave (1944)
* Haldimand (1953)
* L'Anse-aux-Griffons (1870)
* Rivière-au-Renard (1933)
* Saint-Alban-du-Cap-des-Rosiers (1896)
* Saint-Majorique (1966)
* Saint-Maurice
