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What was the War of the Knives in Saint-Domingue?

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Toussaint Louverture stands in a military uniform with a feathered hat, holding a document and sword, with soldiers and a landscape in the background. — Toussaint Louverture A formerly enslaved person who became the leading figure of the Haitian Revolution, Toussaint Louverture helped lay the foundation for Haiti's independence.

The War of the Knives, also known as the War of the South, was a civil conflict that took place in Saint-Domingue from 1799 to 1800.1

The war arose from tensions between Toussaint Louverture, who held power in the north, and André Rigaud, a leader who controlled the southern region of the colony. The conflict was exacerbated by the French representative Gabriel Hédouville, who attempted to exploit existing divisions between Louverture and Rigaud to reassert French authority.1

The campaign was characterized by significant violence, particularly within the southern provinces, and it deepened the social and political divide between the Black and mixed-race populations of the colony. Ultimately, the war ended in a victory for Louverture, allowing him to eliminate his primary internal rivals and establish effective control over nearly all of Saint-Domingue by 1800.1