Her name was Marie Joseph Angélique.
She was a 29-year-old enslaved woman, who was tortured and then publicly hanged and burned in front of Montreal’s most iconic buildings and tourist attractions.
Angélique’s image, in defiant stoicism in front of a backdrop of fire red with iconic Montreal cross-topped buildings in silhouette, will now be featured on a Canada Post stamp.
Canada Post unveiled the stamp at a Black History Month ceremony at Montreal’s City Hall on Thursday.
There are no known portraits of Angélique and thus the image is based on a Jorge Camarotti photograph of actor and model Penande Estime.
Estime said that posing as Angélique was a good way to contribute to her community.
“Marie Joseph Angélique was such an inspiration and she’s still an inspiration to many people, and I don’t think it’s only for Black people,” she told CTV News.
Angélique was born in 1705 in Madeira, Portugal, an active slave port in the Atlantic in the 18th century. Merchant François Poulin de Francheville purchased her in New England at age 20, and transported her to Montreal to work as a domestic slave, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia.
After being denied freedom from Francheville’s widow, Thérèse de Couagne de Francheville, Angélique attempted to escape, talked back to her owner and threatened her, according to the 2006 book “The Hanging of Angélique.”
She was arrested after a fire broke out in Montreal in 1734 and dozens of buildings and homes were burned. After more than 20 witnesses testified in the trial and Angélique continually denied setting the fire.
“Madam, although I may be wicked, I am not miserable enough to do an act like that,” she said during her interrogation, according to a Canada Post news release.
She eventually confessed under torture and was hanged on June 21, 1734 at the Notre-Dame Basilica. Her body was then burned.
Estime said she needed to understand, to the best of her abilities, how Angélique felt and lived.
“If I were in her place, what I would feel to be a slave,” she said choking back tears. “It was very deep because I knew a little bit of this story before they talked to me about that… I remember when I was doing research to be inspired, to get my body to get the right emotions in front of the camera. I remember I cried.”
“Her harrowing story reminds us of the history of enslavement in what is now Canada – and sheds light on how those who were enslaved resisted their bondage,” Canada Post said.
Estime said she is lucky to be where she is and that it is thanks to people like Angélique who paved the way to freedom through pain and sorrow.
“It’s because of her and others like her who did what they did for our freedom,” she said. “I think it’s important because those people gave their lives for us.”
