Previously published in Examiner
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.
The horrific trial of Angelique
Marie, an Amerindian slave, claimed Angelique wanted to kill her owner in the fire, and other witnesses such as Louise Poirier dit Lafleur said she had a bad character. There was even a testimony by Marguerite César dit Lagardelette, who was perhaps not even sane at the time.
The only evidence the courts had to actually convict Angelique was the testimony of a five-year-old little girl named Amable who claimed she had seen Angelique set the fire. However in those years, the court did rely on public testimony however flimsy as proof of a crime.
Angelique was tortured in order to extract her confession. She was beaten and then they crushed her legs with an instrument called “the boot.” The beating was customary for arson cases but the boot was reserved for prisoners sentenced to death. Why was she given this punishment, why was she even sentenced to death? The punishment seemed harsh, she was an arsonist by the days standards, but she had not killed anyone.
Source:
http://www.examiner.com/women-s-issues-in-montreal/slave-woman-burns-down-city