Marie Marguerite Rose

Marie Marguerite Rose (c. 1717–1757) was a Guinean-born Canadian slave. In 2008, Rose was made a Person of National Historic Significance by the Government of Canada.

Biography In 1736, Jean Chrysostome Loppinot, a French naval officer posted in Louisbourg, on Île Royale, modern-day Cape Breton, purchased Rose at an unknown price. She was then baptized in September, given a French name and possibly branded. The certificate of her baptism places her at approximately nineteen years old.

For nineteen years she performed domestic duties; cooking meals, washing clothes and scrubbing floors in the Loppinot household, which included up to 12 children. During this time, she became pregnant to an unknown father, later giving birth to a son, Jean-Francois. Jean-Francois became a de facto slave until his death at the age of thirteen. Around 1755, she married Jean Pierre Laurent, a Mi'kmaw man, Elgersman, relying on invoices that survive, notes that their tavern must have had a "diverse clientele".

In 1757,

In 2009, Parks Canada began a Slavery Tour at the Louisbourg fortress. Rose's life is highlighted during the tour.

On August 6, 2010, Cathy McLeod, Member of Parliament for Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo, on behalf of Jim Prentice, Minister of the Environment and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, commemorated a plaque in Rose's honour.

On July 16, 2011, Peter Kent, Canada's Environment Minister and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, unveiled an exhibit celebrating Marie Marguerite Rose. During the presentation he gave an address: