Born in 1709, Léveillé was an enslaved African man who endured years of brutal oppression and was ultimately forced to become an executioner in New France (modern-day Canada) as punishment for attempting to escape his shackles.
Before his forced role as an executioner in New France (modern-day Canada), Léveillé was enslaved for 24 years on a plantation in Martinique, a French colony in the Caribbean. Like many enslaved Africans, his life on the plantation was harsh and unforgiving. Reports suggest that Léveillé made several escape attempts in an effort to free himself from his captors. After his third attempt, he was sentenced to death. However, instead of facing execution, his sentence was commuted — with an even darker fate awaiting him.
Léveillé was sold to the government of New France for 800 livres, where he was condemned to carry out death sentences as an executioner. White settlers in New France shunned the job of an executioner, viewing it as too gruesome and socially degrading. As a result, enslaved Black Africans were often forced into becoming executioners, forcing them to punish others, including their fellow slaves, in the service of the colonial justice system.
Léveillé’s role involved not only performing executions but also administering other forms of corporal punishment and torture. It was a job that placed him in a deeply isolated and stigmatized position, reinforcing the dehumanization he experienced both as an enslaved person and as someone forced to carry out the brutal task of executing people.
One of the most infamous events Léveillé was involved in was the execution of Marie-Joseph Angélique, an enslaved Black woman who, like Léveillé, was also a rebel and had tried to escape several times. In 1734, Angélique allegedly set fire to the home of her enslaver in an attempt to cover her escape. The fire spread uncontrollably, destroying 46 buildings in Quebec City. After being captured, Angélique was tortured and sentenced to death. As the colony’s official executioner, Léveillé was tasked with her torture and likely played a key role in carrying out her public execution.
The connection between Léveillé and Angélique adds a layer of tragedy to his story, as it shows how the enslaved were sometimes forced into positions of punishing others who shared their plight.
Mathieu Léveillé’s life as an executioner lasted from 1733 until his death on September 9, 1743. For 10 years, he was forced to live on the margins of society, both reviled for his role as an executioner and trapped in his enslaved condition.
