Angelique the Slave Woman Represents Freedom for Women All Over the World

Few people know the legend of how Montreal was burned to the ground in 1734. The legend has it that a black slave woman by the name of Angelique started the fire. She was a very willful woman and burnt down the city for spite. How much of this story is true, will not be known due to the torture she had to endure before she confessed under duress.

Unfair treatment at her trial

One has to wonder why this extra cruel punishment was administered upon her. Angelique may have been an arsonist, but she was tortured as if she was a murderer. The legal system in the 18th century was far from fair.

She was executed on June 21, 1734. According wikipedia, "after torture, she confessed to the crime, but claimed to have done it alone. Angélique was sentenced to be burnt alive and to have her hands cut off, but the Superior /council in Quebec City altered her death sentence to hanging in a public ceremony presumably saving her hands. This altered sentenced involved her being driven through town tied in the back of a cart wearing a sign reading "arsonist"; the drive included a stop at the church where she was made to kneel and beg for forgiveness from God, the King of France, and her fellow subjects (a process known as "amende honorable").

Note: How she could do that with her legs broken by the boot?

She was hanged and once dead, her body was burned and her ashes scattered."
The courts concluded, "the accused set the fire out of wickedness and to conceal her plan to escape."
There is no actual proof of Angelique setting the fire. It was all based on public hearsay, and the testimony of a five year old little girl.

Today Angelique represents African oppression in the Americas, but for Montrealers she also represents a strong female who resisted oppression and fought for her freedom and her life. Cooper admits that "Angélique is a powerful symbol of the historic black burden in Canada."

Source:
http://hour.ca/2006/02/16/hang-fire/