Alexandre Pétion Alexandre Sabès Pétion ( April 2 , 1770 – March 29 , 1818 ) was the first President of the Republic of Haiti from 1807 until his death in 1818 . He is considered as one of Haiti ' s founding fathers , together with Toussaint Louverture , Jean - Jacques Dessalines , and his rival Henri Christophe . Early life . Pétion was born in Port - au - Prince to a Haitian mother and a wealthy French father . Like other " gens de couleur libres " ( free people of color ) with wealthy fathers , Pétion was sent to France in 1788 to be educated and study at the Military Academy in Paris . In Saint - Domingue , as in other French colonies such as La Louisiane , the free " gens de couleur " 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 the " petits blancs , " who were mostly minor tradesmen . Following the French Revolution of 1789 , the " gens de couleur " led a rebellion to gain the voting and political rights which they believed were due them as French citizens ; this was before the slave uprising of 1791 . At that time , most free people of color did not support freedom or political rights for enslaved Africans and free blacks . Years of Haitian Revolution . Pétion returned to Saint - Domingue as a young man to take part in the Créole expulsion of the British from Saint - Domingue ( 1798 – 99 ) . There had long been racial and class tensions between gens de couleur and enslaved Africans and free blacks in Saint - Domingue , where slaves outnumbered whites and gens de couleur by ten to one . During the years of warfare against planters or " grand blancs " , Spanish , English , and French racial tensions were exacerbated in competition for power and political alliances . When tensions arose between blacks and mulattoes , Pétion often supported the mulatto faction . He allied with General André Rigaud and Jean Pierre Boyer against Toussaint L ' Ouverture in 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 of Jacmel ; 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 . In February 1802 , General Charles Leclerc arrived with tens of warships and 82 , 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 . Following the French deportation of Toussaint Louverture and the renewed struggle , Pétion joined the nationalist force in October 1802 . This followed a secret conference at Arcahaie , where Pétion supported Jean - Jacques Dessalines , the general who had captured Jacmel . The rebels took the capital of Port - au - Prince on October 17 , 1803 . Dessalines proclaimed independence on January 1 , 1804 , naming the nation Haiti . On October 6 , 1804 , Dessalines declared himself ruler for life and was crowned emperor . Post - revolution . Following the assassination of Dessalines on October 17 , 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 the State 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 1806 of the southern Republic 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 northern Kingdom of Haiti . Fearing a lack of political power , he turned his post into President for Life in 1816 , going against his former beliefs . Initially a supporter of democracy , Pétion found the constraints imposed on him by the senate onerous and suspended the legislature in 1818 . Pétion seized commercial plantations from the rich gentry . He had the land redistributed to his supporters and the peasantry , earning him the nickname " Papa 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 . 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 leader Simón Bolívar in 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 up Gran Colombia . Petion was reported to be influenced by his ( and his succcessor ' s ) lover , Marie - Madeleine Lachenais , who acted as his political adviser . Pétion named the general Boyer as his successor ; he took control in 1818 following the death of Pétion from yellow fever . After Henry I and his son died in 1820 , Boyer reunited the country under his rule .