Marquis de Lafayette. The hero of two worlds

 Marquis de Lafayette

The hero of two worlds

Marquis de Lafayette was born on September 6th 1757. He belonged to an old noble family of soldiers. 

Lafayette during the American Revolutionary War

In 1759, his father died in the Seven Years War (1756-1763), and furthermore, he lost both his mother and grandmother when he was 13 years old. Even so, he inherited a vast wealth, which allowed him to live in luxury. By 1774, he was married and a courtier at the Versailles of newly crowned king Louis XVI. 

Marie Adrienne Francoise, Lafayette's wife

King Louis XVI of France (1776-1792)

A year later, in 1775, the 13 British colonies in North America revolted against their masters. As a result, the American Revolutionary War had begun. Young Lafayette was so obsessed with the conflict and, in 1777, he decided to join the Continental Army, despite having no combat experience. In July, he arrived in Philadelphia where he presented himself to the Continental Congress. 

Lafayette meeting George Washington

Expressing his will to fight for free for the American cause, and despite reluctance from the Congress, including Washington himself who saw him as an adventure in the search for glory, Lafayette became Major General in the Continental Army. However, he proved his skills and bravery on the battlefield, thus earning respect from all his comrades, especially from Washington. The two became good friends, and Washington even saw Lafayette as the son he never had. 

Battle of Brandywine, 1777

Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge

In the Battle of Brandywine, Lafayette is severely wounded but survived the injury. In 1779, he returned to France to drum up support for the American revolutionaries. He managed to gather 6,000 soldiers and, along with 6 ships, sailed back to America. In the end, the British lost the Battle of Yorktown (1781), in which Lafayette played a pivotal role. From now on, he would be remembered as ''The hero of two worlds''.

Unfortunately, this is not the end of his legend, but just the beginning. In 1780's, France was a precarious situation. Its involvement in many bloody conflicts over the 18th century emptied the royal treasury, and it was on the verge of financial collapsing. In order to address this issue, King Louis XVI summoned the Estates Generals, in 1789.

The Estates General of 1789. The Estates General was a legislative and consultative assembly of different classes (estates) of French subjects. There were 3 estates in total: clergy, nobility and commoners. Prior to this event, the last meeting had been in 1614

200 representatives convened on Paris on May 4th, 1789. Lafayette was among them, as a deputy to the nobility, and, he tried to push his agenda of a liberal form of government, but his ideas fell to deaf ears. The 3rd estate (commoners, which represented 80% of the French population at that time) was fed up with its underprivileged statute. Without finding any support or understanding among the other 2 estates, they decided to leave to assembly and formed one of their one, the National Assembly, on June 17th, 1789. Lafayette, even though a noble, supported them, and joined the assembly. During its existence, the assembly managed to draft the Declaration of Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

Declaration of Rights of Man and of the Citizen

In July, 1789, after the Storming of Bastille by the people of Paris, Lafyette was appointed as the new commander of the newly established National Guard. On October 5th, 1789, a riot broke out in Paris over bread prices turned into an army of heavily armed women, who decided to march on Versailles.

Women's March on Versailles 

When Lafayette got word of it, he first attempted to stop them, but in the end, he decided to escort them to Versailles. When he arrived there, he persuaded the king and his family to come to Paris, thus avoiding a further escalation of the tension. Meanwhile, the National Assembly abolished the feudal system in France, and the king showed his sympathy and support for liberal reforms. 

On July 17th, 1791, the Paris National Guard opened fire on a group of protesters demanding the king's abdication. 50 people were either killed or wounded. This was a huge blow for Lafayette's popularity, which saw a huge decrease among the people. He resigned his post, had himself transferred into the army. By April 1792, France declared war on Austria, and, on the August 10th, the revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace, where the royal family resided, thus arresting them. The monarchy had been abolished, and France had become a republic.

Fearing for his life, Lafayette deserted his post in the army, and crossed the lines into the enemy territory. He was captured by the Austrians and spent the next five years in different jails. He was released in 1797, after an agreement between France and Austria. With the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, Lafayette supported him at first, but he realized that his lust for power are no good for France.

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)

Napoleon even tried to persuade Lafayette to become the French ambassador to the US, but the latter refused. Furthermore, the marquis openly criticized the new French ruler for his dictatorial leadership, and, in 1802, he retired from public life. In 1814, Napoleon is exiled on Elba, and Louis XVIII returned to become the new King of France. This event was known as the Bourbon Restoration. Lafayette returned from his retirement and supported the Bourbons, but Napoleon made a comeback in 1815, and reigned for another 100 days before being decisively defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. He was then exiled on the island of St. Helena. 

Louis XVIII (1815-1824)

So, after many revolts, revolutions and a Napoleonic dictatorship, the Bourbons were back in power. Lafayette, although hopeful at first, became very disappointed of the new king. In 1824, US President James Monroe invited him to visit the United States to mark the 50th anniversary of the American Revolution. By now, Lafayette was one of the last surviving veterans of this conflict, and he accepted the invitation.

General Lafayette in 1824, during his visit to the United States

US President James Monroe (1819-1827)

Lafayette's welcoming parade in Philadelphia

He spent 13 months and toured all the US states. He was received with honors by the people, and towns were renamed after him. Meanwhile, Louis XVII had passed away, and Charles X, his younger brother, had ascended to the throne. In 1830, the new king tried to impose an absolute monarchy, by pushing a document called the ''Four Ordinances'', in which he basically suspended all the freedoms of speech and the press, and the right to vote for millions of people. However, the Parisians did not receive the news very well, and they decide to revolt. In just three days, Charles lost all of his support and fled. 

Charles X (1824-1830)

1830 French Revolution earned the name ''July Revolution'' for taking place in July

In order to avoid France falling into anarchy, Lafayette supported Louis Phillipe as king. Eventually, he was crowned as king Louis Phillipe I of France, and he accepted to establish a liberal constitutional monarchy, Lafayette's dream since 1789.

Louis Phillipe I (1830-1848)

That was the last important event in Lafayette's life. On May 20th, 1834, aged 76, the marquis died in Paris.