was born in Port-au-Prince in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, to a mixed-race mother and a white father, Pascal Sabés, who refused to recognize Alexandre as his son. Alexandre Pétion is one of the founders of the independent country of Haiti and was president of the southern Republic of Haiti between 1807 and 1818. During the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804), Pétion fought for both the French and the rebel armies, but played a key role in helping the rebels defeat the French in the final war of independence (1802–1804).
As a child, he was not sent to school but instead was trained as a silversmith. Despite the fact that his father would not legally recognize him, Alexandre used his last name but also added “Pétion” to it—Pichoun meaning my little one having been his childhood nickname When he was 18 years old he joined ...
