Career
In 2008, Rose was made a Person of National Historic Significance by the Government of Canada. 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.
Foreign total of nineteen years, she performed domestic duties, such as cooking meal, 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.
She was manumitted in 1755. The couple began a tavern in Louisbourg, at the corner of Saint-Louis Street and Place d’Armes, near the barracks.
In 1757, her second year of freedom, she died.
She was buried at the Fortress of Louisbourg. At her death an inventory was taken. "She had an extensive collection of used clothing and a pair of half-made woollen stockings.
Her other possessions were balls of handmade soap, an iron, supplies for dyeing clothes, six pounds of sugar and a cookbook," despite her inability to read.
In 2008, Rose was made a Person of National Historic Significance by the Government of Canada. In 2009, Parks Canada began a Slavery Tour at the Louisbourg fortress.
Rose"s life is highlighted during the tour. 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:
“This exhibit represents the immense perseverance of Marie Marguerite Rose, a woman who with courage and dignity asserted her rights at a time when they were far from assured.
Her life serves as a reminder of both our nation’s diverse heritage and the freedoms we as Canadians enjoy today.”.