Revolutionary Lives That Crossed Borders

Individuals carried revolution from one country to another. The Marquis de Lafayette fought for American independence, helped draft France's Declaration of the Rights of Man and commanded the National Guard in 1789. Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense in America, defended the French Revolution in Britain, and sat in the French Convention before being imprisoned during the Terror.

Francisco de Miranda, a Venezuelan, fought with Spain's forces in the American war, served as a general in France's revolutionary army in 1792 and led early Venezuelan independence efforts. Tadeusz Kościuszko fought in the American Revolution and led a Polish uprising in 1794. These lives show that revolutions were connected by networks of people as well as ideas. They also show the dangers: Paine nearly died in prison, Lafayette was imprisoned by Austria, and Miranda died in a Spanish prison.