February Is Black History Month: Marie-Joseph Angelique

If there was a symbol of black resistance to slavery in Canada, one need look no further than Marie-Joseph Angelique.

"Incendiary" by artist Kit Lang

As an enslaved black woman in Montreal, Angelique highly and rightly resented being the property of her "owner" and resisted those who would keep her enslaved, asking multiple times to be granted her freedom. When her requests were refused, her fiery temper would emerge and there were several instances of her threatening to burn down the house and kill everyone living inside.

After a huge fire levelled the Montreal merchants district in 1734, many people pointed to Angelique as a possible suspect. Of course, there was no real evidence, merely hearsay regarding her angered threats, but that didn't stop the judicial council of finding her guilty and sentencing her to death.

Guilty or not, Angelique was merely fighting for her right to be a free person and uphold the belief that no-one should have to endure being the property of another person and classed as a slave.

Marie-Joseph Angelique: