François Mackandal

"My knowledge of the Brotherhood comes from its source. 'Laa shay'a waqi'un moutlaq bale kouloun moumkine.' I understand these words in a way you never will. My Creed is pure, undiluted by centuries of weakness and compromise."

―François Mackandal in a letter to his fellow Assassin and Maroon Antó, 1738.

François Mackandal (died 1758) was a Maroon leader and the Mentor of the Saint-Domingue Brotherhood of Assassins during the 18th century.

Biography

In 1732, François Mackandal became acquainted with Agaté, Baptiste and Jeanne, three slaves that labored at a plantation at Saint-Domingue. Mackandal took all three under his wing and taught them to read and write, also instructing Agaté and Baptiste on how to craft poison and use weapons, in preparation of their induction into the Brotherhood. When Jeanne discovered Mackandal's violent ways, she grew frightened of him and what he would ask in return for his teachings.

At some point, Mackandal became acquainted with Antó, an Assassin affiliated with the Maroons that operated in the West Indies. In 1738, Antó offered to aid Mackandal by supplying him with recruits, but also called for peace between the Maroons and the French colonists of Saint-Domingue. Mackandal rejected his aid, claiming that his Brotherhood was strong enough, and belittled Antó and his Mentor Ah Tabai, believing both to be weak and prone to compromise. He also warned Antó against sending his Assassins, whether to assist him or oppose him, assuring him that they would die either way.

That same year, Mackandal officially inducted Agaté and Baptiste into the Brotherhood, following which he and his pupils escaped the plantation; Jeanne was left behind, as she refused to ally herself with the Assassins. Unaware that she had stolen the Heart of the Brotherhood, an Isu relic, Mackandal subsequently fought alongside Agaté and Baptiste for many years. By 1748, Mackandal had begun collecting several relics dating from the Isu Era.

By 1751, Mackandal owned the Voynich manuscript and the Precursor box, the latter of which he had relieved from Bastienne Josèphe. Through the use of both artifacts, he learned the location of several Isu temples around the world, one of which was located in Port-au-Prince. Mackandal sent Vendredi, one of his students, to investigate the site; however, Vendredi indirectly caused a massive earthquake to occur.

Eventually, a failed attempt to poison the white colonists of Saint-Domingue resulted in Mackandal's capture. Madeleine de L'Isle ordered the Templars under her command to make an example out of him, by way of a public execution in 1758.

Legacy

Engraving of Mackandal's death

"François Mackandal, my own mentor—the leader, the priest, the Brother, to whose cause I devoted my life. He was put to death by fire. I failed to prevent it."

―Agaté about Mackandal, 1766.

During the Seven Years' War, Templar Shay Cormac sent his fleet on a mission to Cap Français to expand both Templar and British influence in the area and acquired an engraving with a depiction of Mackandal's death by fire.

Shortly after his death, Mackandal's student Baptiste deliberately amputated his own arm in order to impersonate him. In 1766, Baptiste, as Mackandal, aimed to take the Louisiana Bayou by force and realize Mackandal's goal of poisoning the colonists. His main goal however, was to locate the hideout of his former Brother Agaté, and hand him over to the Templars. To help fight against this threat, Agaté gave Mackandal's blowpipe to his disciple, Aveline de Grandpré. By 1776, Mackandal's role as Mentor in Saint-Domingue was considered a disgrace by Eseosa, and the young man strove to recreate the Order a thousand times better than the one headed by Mackandal. This led Eseosa to set up a voodoo ceremony at Bois Caïman to start a rebellion.

Behind the scenes

Though the image purports itself to be of François Mackandal's execution, it instead is an edit of a 19th century depiction of the New York Conspiracy of 1741 made by Alfred Waud for Edward Sylvester Ellis' "The Youths' History of the United States", where it is titled "Executing Negroes in New York".

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed III: Liberation (first mentioned)
• Assassin's Creed: Initiates (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Rogue (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: The Official Movie Novelization