Wonder Woman of the Week: Marie-Josephine dete Angelique

This week’s spotlight puts “pig-blood” Carrie to shame. When her racist town told her she couldn’t marry the man she loved, this Wonder Woman was accused of burning the whole town while all those angry white haters slept like babies. She may not have necessarily been a “hero” but you better be sure she never let anyone tell her how to live her life. The Wonder Woman of the Week is Marie-Josephine dete Angelique.

Marie-Josephine dete Angelique had to grow up tough in Eighteenth Century Canada. She was the slave of Francois Pouline Francheville and was forced into being the “mistress” (which in slave-age terms meant breeding partner) of a slave named Cesar and was forced into motherhood through three children. Angelique wasn’t about that life though and fell in love with a white man named Claude Thibault. The two of them ran away to New England to be together. [1]

That would have been the end of it if this was the kind of place where interracial marriage were legal and slavery wasn’t a thing- but Eighteenth Century Canada was neither. In 1734, just three years after fleeing Montreal, a fire broke out and destroyed the hospital and forty-five houses. Marie-Josephine and her man were blamed, but Angelique was left behind in the dust when the man she thought she loved flew the coup. The slave didn’t stand a change in court and was even tortured to get a confession from her. She admitted to starting the fire (though the only evidence was her post-torture confession and half-truths from other slaves threatened with torture) but refused to drag her lover down with her. [2]

In most history books, Marie-Josephine dete Angelique is still remembered as the vengeful slave that set fire to Montreal. Few regard her as a hero, but she would have made the Amazon princess proud. She was born a slave, forced into selective breeding, and fled with a man she chose. When she was accused of a crime she didn’t commit, she refused to drag her lover down with her. She was hung from the gallows and written off as a villain. The more accurate portrayal is one of strength, independence, and pride.

“Marie-Josephine-Angelique” 2015. Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Accessed 2 September 2015. http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio.php?BioId=35095

“Torture and Truth: Angelique and the Burning of Montreal” 2015. Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History. Accessed 2 September 2015. http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/angelique/accueil/indexen.html