Marie-Joseph Aglique Research Paper

Marie-Joseph Angélique was a slave in the 1700s in the settlement of Montréal in New France. She was born in Madeira, Portugal and sold to work as a slave in New France at age 20. At age 29, in 1734 she was accused of starting a fire that burned down a hospital and 45 houses in Montréal. The question is, was Angélique really guilty of starting the fire, or was she innocent? When the information available is weighed, Angélique was innocent in the standards of today’s justice, since her confession was obtained through torture, most of the evidence was based on gossip, and that the society around her would think her guilty before even bringing her to trial. People believe that she was guilty because of a rumour that she and her lover wanted to escape and be free, but Angélique’s intentions were never to harm innocents, just …show more content…
What is more important is how she was treated as a black slave in Canada. Her trial was not fair, in that it did not have enough evidence to convict her. Angélique was a scapegoat for the people in Montreal who wanted someone to blame for all that they had lost. Rumours and spite convicted Angélique. The trial was based on bias, and rumour, with no solid facts other than the flimsy evidence of a five year old girl. Angélique was treated very poorly, and very inhumanely. Angélique was tried based on her past acts of defiance in running away with a white man. This would have been viewed as defying the rules of society on many levels. The use of torture in her trial was horrendous. It is a good thing that we live in a time in Canada where people are treated more fairly and human rights are respected. In today’s times the evidence against Angélique would not have been sufficient to even lead to an arrest, never mind a trial and a conviction. The sad history of Angelique is a black mark in Canadian history and is still relevant in terms of human rights and