A maroon slave who was brought to Saint Domingue, former name of Haiti, Francois Mackandal was a houngan and was considered to be a very intelligent slave who knew how to write and read. He was the first to vocalize his desire to be free from slavery.

Francois Mackandal saw the whites were outnumbered by the slaves and predicted that eventually the slave would overthrow the French and end slavery.

Mackandal was caught in a rebellion plot to poison the whites in 1757 and was chained to the stake.