Marie Joseph Angelique

Stage One: Explore Daily Life in New France

Photographs and Maps in the Marie Joseph Angelique archives. What do you notice?

Types of evidence:

• Hearsay or second-hand evidence: Hearsay evidence is not considered to be reliable evidence since it is information you did not see or hear yourself but was reported to you by others (your friend tells you what another person did).
• Character evidence: Evidence about the person’s general behaviour and traits may be used to decide whether or not the accused person was of a sufficiently good or bad character that he or she might be likely to commit the crime (a witness stating she never heard the accused person hurt anyone or ever tell a lie).
• Circumstantial or indirect evidence: Circumstantial evidence is the evidence about the circumstances in which the crime occurred that indirectly suggests what might have happened (the accused person was seen in the neighbourhood around the time of the crime).
• Direct evidence: Direct evidence may be “real evidence” which would consist of an object or document (a video or audio tape of the event) or “eye-witness testimony” (a witness reporting what she saw the accused person do at the scene of the crime) that directly establishes the action taken by the accused person.
  • (from http://www.mysteryquests.ca/quests/02)

Now you decide

Use the steps of this Mysteryquest to find out about the trial and punishment of Marie Angelique.

Personal response: The story of Angelique indicates that New France was suffering from tensions brought through the social hierarchy and slave trade. Do you think Angelique set the fire? If she set the fire, were her actions rebellion against slavery and justified or should she be punished? You will be given one of the sides of the argument and will write down facts and witness statements to support that point of view. We will debate "fishbowl style" (more on that later) in class.

In groups: Using the facts given and what you know about life in New France, write a letter from the point of view of one of the witnesses used in the case. Use the maps and photos to give specific details. Describe the day of the fire starting with the morning activities and continuing through the day until the fire began. Using mime or tableau, the group will act out the events in the letter while one group member reads it aloud.

Movie Adaptation