Blackwell Reference Online

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François Mackandal, deported from Guinea to Saint Domingue by the French, lived as a fugitive slave, or Maroon, in the mountains of Haiti. During nightly Voodoo ceremonies he preached death to white colonizers, plotting mass poisoning against them, networked among slaves, and taught them forms of resistance. Caught by the colonists, he was publicly burned in Cap-Français (now Cap-Haïtien) in March 1758. A one-armed rebel who spoke Arabic and professed Islam, Mackandal considered himself an intermediary between the slaves and Voodoo loas (spirits), who showed him the way to revolution. He built a secret Maroon camp in the middle of the mountains, supporting it by trading small goods for arms with the Spaniards. A charismatic leader, he convinced his followers that he was immortal and could predict the future. Maroon camps such as Mackandal's allowed slaves not only to escape but also to reclaim possession of their own bodies. They also provided space to overcome the economic shortages caused by leaving behind the scarce conditions on the plantations and gave collective power to the Maroons. Practicing Voodoo, performing transgression to the spirits of African ancestors, and dancing and playing drums also became important sources of collective strength and resistance. Secret communities grew all over the island and became cells for rebel networking. They facilitated a then unthinkable ... log in or subscribe to read full text