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 during the 18th century. Despite having lost an arm in an accident, it did not hamper him from joining the Assassins and climbing their ranks to become the Saint-Domingue Brotherhood's Mentor. Intent on breaking the French Empire's control over their colony of Haiti and its enslaved Black population by whatever means, he actively pursued a policy of aggression against the colonists based on a literal interpretation of the Creed's maxim that "everything [was] permitted".

For a time, he sought to find the Isu's hidden Temples to recover any artifacts inside, though it was a passing interest secondary to his main objective. In 1758, a failed attempt at poisoning colonists ended in his capture before the Templars arranged for his public execution.

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.

Later, Mackandal became acquainted with Antó, an Assassin affiliated with the Maroon rebellion 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 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 the previous holder, Bastienne Josèphe. Through the use of both artifacts, he learned the location of several Isu temples around the world, one of which was located beneath Port-au-Prince. Mackandal sent his student Vendredi to investigate the site; however, Vendredi indirectly caused a massive earthquake to occur.

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

Legacy

"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.

Engraving of Mackandal's execution

During the Seven Years' War, the Colonial 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 Mackandal's death, Baptiste deliberately amputated his left arm in order to impersonate him. In 1766, he aimed to take the Louisiana Bayou by force and finally poison the colonists. Baptiste's main goal, however, was to locate Agaté's hideout and kill his former Brother in exchange for joining 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, who strove to recreate the Brotherhood "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

François Mackandal is a historical figure who was first mentioned in the 2012 video game Assassin's Creed III: Liberation. In the 2014 video game Assassin's Creed: Rogue, once players complete the mission "Arms for Cap Français" in The Naval Campaign, they unlock an image purportedly of Mackandal's execution as a reward. However, it actually is an edit of a depiction of the New York Conspiracy of 1741 made by the illustrator Alfred Waud for the American author Edward Sylvester Ellis' 1887 book The Youths' History of the United States, Vol. I, 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) (painting only)
• Assassin's Creed: The Official Movie Novelization