Lafayette: The Hero of Two Worlds

The Marquis de Lafayette personified the hope that liberty and monarchy could be reconciled. A wealthy noble, he sailed to America at nineteen, served under George Washington and became famous on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1789 he presented an early draft of the Declaration of Rights and was named commander of the Paris National Guard, a citizens' militia meant to protect both the Revolution and public order. That dual role became impossible.

He was seen as protecting the king, yet the royal family escaped under his watch in 1791, and his guardsmen fired on petitioners at the Champ de Mars that same year. When the monarchy fell in 1792 he fled and was imprisoned by the Austrians for five years. His career shows how moderates were squeezed as the Revolution polarised between defenders of the throne and radicals.