Jump to content

Alexandre Pétion

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Pétion" redirects here. For the French politician, seeJérôme Pétion de Villeneuve.
For the Haitian Navy gunboat, seeHaitian ship Alexandre Pétion.

Alexandre Pétion
Lithographportrait of Alexandre Pétion
1stPresident of Haiti
In office
9 March 1807[1]– 29 March 1818
Preceded byJean-Jacques Dessalines(as Emperor of Haiti)
Succeeded byJean-Pierre Boyer
Personal details
Born
Anne Alexandre Sabès

(1770-04-02)2 April 1770
Port-au-Prince,Saint-Domingue
Died29 March 1818(1818-03-29)(aged 47)
Port-au-Prince,Haiti
NationalityHaitian
SpouseMarie-Madeleine Lachenais
Military career
AllegianceFrance
Haiti
Service/branchFrench Revolutionary Army
Armée Indigène[2]
Years of service1791–1803
RankGeneral
Battles/warsHaitian Revolution

Alexandre Sabès Pétion(French pronunciation:[alɛksɑ̃dʁsabɛspetjɔ̃];2 April 1770 – 29 March 1818) was the first president of theRepublic of Haitifrom 1807 until his death in 1818. One of Haiti's founding fathers, Pétion belonged to the revolutionary quartet that also includesToussaint Louverture,Jean-Jacques Dessalines,and his later rivalHenri Christophe.Regarded as an excellent artilleryman in his early adulthood,[3]Pétion would distinguish himself as an esteemed military commander with experience leading bothFrenchand Haitian troops. The 1802 coalition formed by him and Dessalines against French forces led byCharles Leclercwould prove to be a watershed moment in the decade-long conflict, eventually culminating in the decisive Haitian victory at theBattle of Vertièresin 1803.[3]

Early life[edit]

Pétion was born "Anne Alexandre Sabès" inPort-au-Princeto Pascal Sabès, a wealthyFrenchfather and Ursula, a freemulattowoman,[4]which made him aquadroon(a quarter African ancestry).[5][6]Like othergens de couleurlibres(free people of color) with wealthy fathers, Pétion was sent toFrancein 1788 to be educated and study at theMilitary Academyin Paris.[7]

InSaint-Domingue,as in other French colonies such asLouisiane,the free people of color constituted a third caste between the whites and enslaved Africans. While restricted in political rights, many received social capital from their fathers and became educated and wealthy landowners, resented by thepetits blancs,who were mostly minor tradesmen. Following theFrench Revolution,thegens de couleurled a rebellion to gain the voting and political rights which they believed were due them as French citizens; this was before the1791 slave rebellion.At that time, most free people of color did not support freedom or political rights for slaves.[citation needed]

Haitian Revolution[edit]

Pétion returned to Saint-Domingue as a young man to take part in theHaitian Revolution,participating in skirmishes with theBritishforce in Northern Haiti.Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville,who was theSecretary of State for Warto prime ministerWilliam Pitt the Younger,instructed Sir Adam Williamson, the lieutenant-governor of Jamaica, to sign an agreement with representatives of the French colonists that promised to restore theancien regime,slavery and discrimination against mixed-race colonists, a move that drew criticism from abolitionistsWilliam WilberforceandThomas Clarkson.[8][9]

There had long been racial and class tensions between thegens de couleurand enslaved and freeblacksin Saint-Domingue, where the enslaved black population outnumbered the white andgens de couleurby ten to one. During the years of warfare against French planters (commonly referred to asgrands blancs), racial tensions in Saint-Domingue were exacerbated in competition for power and political alliances.[7]

When tensions arose between full blacks and mulattoes, Pétion frequently supported the mulatto faction. He allied with GeneralAndré RigaudandJean-Pierre BoyeragainstToussaint Louverturein a failed rebellion, the so-called "War of Knives",in the South of Saint-Domingue, which began in June 1799. By November, the rebels were pushed back to the strategic southern port ofJacmel;the defence was commanded by Pétion. The town fell in March 1800 and the rebellion was effectively over. Pétion and other mulatto leaders went into exile in France.[7]

In February 1802, GeneralCharles Leclercarrived with tens of warships and 32,000 French troops to bring Saint-Domingue under more control. Gens de couleur Petion, Boyer, and Rigaud returned with him in the hope of securing power in the colony.[7]

Following the French deportation of Toussaint Louverture and the renewed struggle, Pétion joined the nationalist force in October 1802. This followed a secret conference atArcahaie,where Pétion supportedJean-Jacques Dessalines,the general who had captured Jacmel. The rebels took the capital ofPort-au-Princeon October 17, 1803. Dessalines proclaimed independence on 1 January 1804, naming the nation Haiti. On 6 October 1804, Dessalines declared himself ruler for life and was crownedEmperor of HaitiasJacques I.[7]

Post-revolution[edit]

Alexandre Pétion

Disaffected members of Emperor Dessalines's administration, including Pétion andHenri Christophe,began a conspiracy to overthrow Dessalines. Following theassassinationof Dessalines on 17 October 1806, Pétion championed the ideals of democracy and clashed with Henri Christophe who wanted absolute rule. Christophe was elected president, but he did not believe the position had sufficient power, as Pétion kept powers for himself. Christophe went to the north with his followers and established an autocracy, declaring theState of Haiti.The loyalties of the country divided between them, and the tensions between the blacks and mulattoes of the North and South, respectively, were reignited.

Pétion was elected President in 1807 of the southernRepublic of Haiti.After the inconclusive struggle dragged on until 1810, a peace treaty was agreed to, and the country was split in two. In 1811, Christophe made himself king of the northernKingdom of Haiti.

On 2 June 1816, Pétion modified the terms of the presidency in the constitution, making himselfpresident for life.[10]Initially a supporter of democracy, Pétion found the constraints imposed on him by thesenateonerous and suspended the legislature in 1818.[11]

Pétion seized commercial plantations from the rich gentry. He had the land redistributed to his supporters and the peasantry, earning him the nicknamePapa Bon-Cœur( "good-hearted father" ). The land seizures and changes in agriculture reduced the production of commodities for the export economy. Most of the population became full subsistence farmers, and exports and state revenue declined sharply, making survival difficult for the new state.[12]

Believing in the importance of education, Pétion started the Lycée Pétion in Port-au-Prince. Petion's virtues and ideals of freedom and democracy for the world (and especially slaves) were strong, and he often showed support for the oppressed. He gave sanctuary to the independence leaderSimón Bolívarin 1815 and provided him with material and infantry support. This vital aid played a defining role in Bolivar's success in liberating the countries of what would make upGran Colombia.[13]Petion was reported to be influenced by his (and his successor's) lover,Marie-Madeleine Lachenais,who acted as his political adviser.[14]

Pétion named GeneralBoyeras his successor as president of the Republic of Haiti; he took control in 1818 following the death of Pétion fromyellow fever.After Henri Christophe of the Kingdom of Haiti andhis sondied in 1820, Boyer reunited the nation under his rule.

References[edit]

  1. ^Mellen, Joan (November 2012).Our Man in Haiti: George de Mohrenschildt and the CIA in the Nightmare Republic.Trine Day. p. 7.ISBN9781936296538.Retrieved14 December2014.
  2. ^Fombrun, Odette Roy, ed. (2009)."History of The Haitian Flag of Independence"(PDF).The Flag Heritage Foundation Monograph And Translation Series Publication No. 3. p. 13. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 4 March 2016.Retrieved24 December2015.
  3. ^abPerry, James (2005).Arrogant Armies: Great Military Disasters and the Generals Behind Them.Edison: CastleBooks. pp. 72, 85.
  4. ^Ripley, George; Dana, Charles A., eds. (1872)."The New American Encyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge XIII".p. 198.Retrieved15 September2015.
  5. ^Press, ed. (1886)."Johnson's (revised) Universal Cyclopaedia: A Scientific and Popular Treasury of Useful Knowledge".A.J. Johnson & Co. p. 221.Retrieved15 September2015.
  6. ^Battier, Alcibiade Fleury; Rafina, Gesner (1881)."Sous les Bambous: Poésies"(in French). p. 209.Retrieved15 September2015.
  7. ^abcdeFenton, Louise, Pétion, Alexander Sabès (1770-1818) in Rodriguez, Junius P., ed. Encyclopedia of slave resistance and rebellion. Vol. 2. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007. p374-375
  8. ^C.L.R. James,Black Jacobins(London: Penguin, 1938), p. 109.
  9. ^David Geggus,Slavery, War and Revolution: The British Occupation of Saint Domingue, 1793–1798(New York: Clarendon Press, 1982).
  10. ^"Constitution of Haiti from 27 December 1806, and its revision from 2 June 1816, year 13 of independence".Saint Marc. 1820. p. Article 142.
  11. ^Senauth, Frank (2011).The Making and the Destruction of Haiti.Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. p. 25.ISBN9781456753832.
  12. ^Jenson, Deborah (2012).Beyond the slave narrative: politics, sex, and manuscripts in the Haitian revolution.Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. p. 185.ISBN9781846317606.
  13. ^Marion, Alexandre Pétion; Ignace Despontreaux Marion; Simón Bolívar (1849).Expédition de Bolivar(in French). Port-au-Prince: De l'imp. de Jh. Courtois.
  14. ^"Femmes d'Haïti - Marie-Madeleine (Joute) Lachenais".Archived fromthe originalon 24 September 2015.Retrieved5 August2012.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toAlexandre Pétion.
Political offices
Preceded byas Emperor President of Haiti
1807–1818 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alexandre_Pétion&oldid=1222325835"