Montreal Canada Was Burned To The Ground By Blacks

Author and historian Afua Cooper has described slavery in the Great White North as “Canada’s best kept secret.” She says that between 1628 and 1833, Canada had approximately 8,000 slaves, but it’s a part of the country’s history that is not well known.

“Canada conveniently forgot its own history of slave-holding, because that would make the country look immoral, indecent,” says Cooper.

“The narrative of the Underground Railroad has superseded this narrative of enslavement in Canada, because Canada was able to use the Underground narrative to distinguish itself from the United States, which for several centuries was an enemy.”

Putting the focus solely on Canada’s image as a safe haven and a land of freedom for slaves ignores an important piece of our history, she adds.

“We can’t rewrite history, and we have to embrace all parts of who we were—the good, the bad, and the ugly.”

Slave-owners in the American South were largely plantation owners, but in Canada they ran the gamut, from merchants and fur traders to farmers and even religious institutions.

“The slave owners were everybody, in every social class,” says Cooper. “Members of the clergy owned large amounts of slaves.”

Cooper has written several books on slavery in Canada, including “The Hanging of Angélique,” which tells the story of enslaved African Marie-Joseph Angélique, who was tortured and hanged in Montreal for allegedly setting fire to her owner’s home in 1734.

The fire destroyed much of what is now known as Old Montreal, and the story focused attention on the conditions of slavery in Canada and the growing rebellion against it.