In Montreal, New France (Quebec), black slave Marie-Joseph Angélique, having been convicted of the arson that destroyed

Marie-Josèphe dite Angélique (ca. 1705-June 21, 1734) was a Madeira-born black slave, who lived in New France in the early 1700s and was executed for an act of arson in Montreal in 1734. Her original name is unknown - Marie-Josèphe dite Angélique was the name given her by her last enslavers. She was tried and convicted of setting fire to her enslaver's home, burning much of what is now referred to as Old Montreal. For long, it was generally accepted that Angélique was guilty of the act of arson, but recently historians argued that she was innocent of the crime and was convicted more on the basis of her reputation as a rebellious slave prone to running away than on the basis of factual evidence.