Complex sentence: The French retook the island under the command of Victor Hughes, who succeeded to free the slaves and turn on the slave-owners who controlled the sugar plantations, but when American interests were threatened, Napoleon sent a force to suppress the rebels and reinstitute slavery.
Split into simpler sentences: The French retook the island under the command of Victor Hughes, who succeeded to free the slaves and turn on the slave-owners who controlled the sugar plantations. When American interests were threatened, Napoleon sent a force to suppress the rebels and reinstitute slavery.