The War of Knives alludes to the conflict between the Haitian revolutionary Toussaint L'Ouverture

Toussaint L'Ouverture

François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture , also Toussaint Bréda, Toussaint-Louverture was the leader of the Haitian Revolution. His military genius and political acumen led to the establishment of the independent black state of Haiti, transforming an entire society of slaves into a free,...

, a Black, and his adversary André Rigaud

André Rigaud

Benoit Joseph André Rigaud was the leading mulatto military leader during the Haïtian Revolution. Among his protégés were Alexandre Pétion and Jean-Pierre Boyer, both future presidents of Haïti.-The revolutionary:...

, a mulatto

Mulatto

Mulatto denotes a person with one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly, and the broader sense of the term makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black...

, from June 1799 to March 1800. These men fought over control of Haiti after defeating foreign forces. Rigaud

André Rigaud

Benoit Joseph André Rigaud was the leading mulatto military leader during the Haïtian Revolution. Among his protégés were Alexandre Pétion and Jean-Pierre Boyer, both future presidents of Haïti.-The revolutionary:...

 won a significant victory over the British invasion, and Toussaint was of a superior rank in the French Army. This left both individuals with a right to claim leadership, however priority was given to Toussaint by the majority. Rigaud

André Rigaud

Benoit Joseph André Rigaud was the leading mulatto military leader during the Haïtian Revolution. Among his protégés were Alexandre Pétion and Jean-Pierre Boyer, both future presidents of Haïti.-The revolutionary:...

 refused to recognize the appointment so an armed conflict began.

Location

The conflict took place mainly in Jacmel

Jacmel

Jacmel, also known by its indigenous Taíno name of Yaquimel, is a town in southern Haiti founded in 1698. It is the capital of the department of Sud-Est and has an estimated population of 40,000, while the municipality of Jacmel had a population of 137,966 at the 2003 Census.The buildings are...

 where the rebels, led by Rigaud, were forced to make their final stand. Jacmel

Jacmel

Jacmel, also known by its indigenous Taíno name of Yaquimel, is a town in southern Haiti founded in 1698. It is the capital of the department of Sud-Est and has an estimated population of 40,000, while the municipality of Jacmel had a population of 137,966 at the 2003 Census.The buildings are...

 fell to Toussaint in March 1800. Rigaud was exiled to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

shortly after, only to return three years later.

Ethnicity and the Conflict

Historians point to a divide among the people of Haiti, based on ethnic background. Rigaud, a mulatto, is seen as being favored by groups with lighter skin, while Toussaint was held in high regard by the rest. Some say that the dark-skin people of Haiti did not trust the mulattos, and this fueled the conflict.

Class System

André Rigaud was known to have the coarse hair of an African but the skin tone of a Caucasian. He wore a soft-haired headdress to be more accepted. He believed in a class system which put mulattos just below whites, with blacks left at the bottom. Toussaint of course would have none of this. André Rigaud struggled with his place in society as being part of both groups, but was accepted by none. Rigaud was betrayed and thrown into jail upon returning to France for failing in his rebellion.