sent by France to govern the island, encouraged Rigaud's rivalry with Toussaint. In 1800, Rigaud left Saint-Domingue for France after his defeat by Toussaint. On 1 October 1800, bound for France aboard the French schooner Diana, Rigaud became a prisoner-of-war when the Diana was captured by the USS Experiment. He was detained in Saint Kitts by the Americans and held there until he was released. Leclerc expedition Rigaud returned to Saint-Domingue in 1802 with the expedition of General Charles Leclerc, Napoleon Bonaparte's brother-in-law, who was sent to unseat Toussaint and re-establish French colonial rule and slavery in Saint-Domingue. After the First French Republic abolished slavery in the colony in 1794 after the first slave uprising, the colonial system, based on exports of commodities from sugar cane and coffee plantations, had been undermined. Sugar production fell markedly, and many surviving white and mulatto planters left the island as refugees. Many emigrated to the United States, where they settled in southern cities such as Charleston, or to the Spanish colonies of Cuba or New Orleans. Leclerc was initially successful in capturing and deporting Toussaint, but Toussaint's officers led the opposition by Haitian indigenous troops and fought on for two more years. Defeated by disease as well as Haitian resistance, France withdrew its 7,000 surviving troops in November 1803, less than one-third of the forces that had been sent there. Jean-Jacques Dessalines, a black from the North, led Saint-Domingue to victory and independence and declared Haiti the new name of the nation. He ultimately declared himself emperor. Rigaud returned to France after the failure of the expedition in 1802–1803. For a time, he was held a prisoner in Fort de Joux, the same fortress as his rival, Toussaint, where the latter died in 1803. Final expedition Rigaud returned to Haiti a third time in December 1810. He established himself as President of the State of the South, in opposition to both Alexandre Pétion, a mulatto and former ally in the South, and Henri Christophe, a black who took power in the North. Shortly after Rigaud's death the following year, Pétion recovered power over the South. Rigaud's tomb is on a small hill between Camp-Perrin and Les Cayes, which has been divided into two to allow a new road to ease transportation. References Sources External links André Rigaud at The Louverture Project 1761 births 1811 deaths Haitian people of French descent Haitian people of