The Trial of Marie-joseph Angelique

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During the 1730s, a young slave girl named Marie-Joseph Angelique would start a rebellion history would never forget. Angelique was the property of François Poulin of Montreal, Canada. Not much is known about the history of slavery in Canada. She was a slave girl who was being prepared to become a mating partner with a fellow slave. Angelique was a woman of sound mind and was resistant to the demands of her master. She was also engaged in a relationship with a white indentured servant named Claude Thibault from France. 

On April 10, 1734, Angelique set fire to the home of her slave master. The fire quickly spread to other houses and businesses. The total damage was 46 buildings burned. One of the buildings was the famous L'Hôtel Dieu hospital. She was captured and brought to trial for the fire. The trial took two months, within that time Angelique was interrogated and tortured until she confessed to the fire. On June 21, 1734, Angelique was set to be executed by the authorities of Montreal. She was paraded through the streets by a rope, one end tied to her neck, and the other tied to a wagon. 

They placed signs upon her back that read arsonist. She was forced to beg for mercy in front of the on-looking crowd, then one of her hands was cut off. She was hung in front of the crowd by a slave named Mathieu, then her body was burned and spread her ashes throughout the land. Slavery in Canada is greatly overlooked and understudied. It is a place where the Church frowned upon slavery, but in the case of Angelique, the Church conveniently turned a blind eye. She was killed because she stood up for her rights as a human being. Freedom was her goal and she gave her life to gain it. Marie-Joseph Angelique; we stand on your shoulders.


J.A. Ward
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References: 

http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/marie_joseph_angelique_2E.html   http://www.blackhistorypages.net/pages/mjangelique.php  http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/angelique/accueil/indexen.html      
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Joseph_Ang%C3%A9lique 

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