Biography of alexandre petion haiti

Alexandre Sabès Pétion (b. 2 April 1770; d. 29 March 1818), President of Haiti (1807–1818). Born in Port-au-Prince of a mulatto mother and a wealthy French father, Paschal Sabès, Pétion belonged to the liberto (free colored) class of Port-au-Prince.

He was despised by his father, perhaps partly because of Pétion's dark skin color. It is unclear why he used the name Pétion instead of Sabès.

Biography of alexandre petion haiti death

(Pétion is from the patois Pichoun, meaning "my little one," a nickname given to him by a foster mother.) At age eighteen, after serving as an apprentice to a blacksmith, Pétion enlisted in the colonial army. By age twenty-one, he had distinguished himself and risen to the rank of captain.

Later, in the ranks of Toussaint L'ouverture, he proved to be a skilled soldier and an excellent leader. In 1791 he joined the mulattoes in the uprising led by Boukman, a fugitive slave from Jamaica, and later was among Toussaint's troops who fought the British.

Pétio