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1758-Jan.-20

1758-Jan.-20: The Execution of Makandal: Maroon leader François Makandal is burned at the stake.

1758-Jan.-20: The Execution of Makandal: Maroon leader François Makandal is burned at the stake. His capture followed a terrifying campaign of mass poisoning that united the northern enslaved population in a common cause. Significance: He was burned at the stake in Le Cap. Nuance: According to oral tradition recorded by Fick and Dubois, Makandal allegedly escaped the flames by transforming into a winged insect. This myth-making was crucial; while the French saw his death as a restoration of order, the enslaved population saw it as a spiritual transition, ensuring his influence remained a “common wind” of rebellion leading up to 1791.

Source Fick, The Making of Haiti, 60; Dubois, Avengers of the New World, 66; Nicholls, From Dessalines to Duvalier, 31