The Marquis de Lafayette: France's Hero of Two Worlds

This episode of The Story of France explores the extraordinary life of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette — the French aristocrat who became a major general in the American Revolution at age 19, then returned to play a pivotal role in France's own revolution. We trace his journey from the court of Versailles to the battlefields of Yorktown, his authorship of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, and his dramatic fall from grace during the Reign of Terror. Lucas and Luna discuss his complicated legacy: a hero of liberty who was also a man of his class, a revolutionary who tried to steer a moderate course, and a figure who, in 1825, was given a hero's welcome on a triumphant tour of the United States. We also touch on his final years, his death, and why both France and America claim him as their own. Specific names encountered include the Marquis de Lafayette, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, the Bastille, the National Guard, the Women's March on Versailles, the Reign of Terror, and the Château de Chavaniac. #MarquisDeLafayette #FrenchRevolution #AmericanRevolution #DeclarationOfRights #Bastille #NationalGuard #Versailles #Yorktown #ReignOfTerror #Liberty #GilbertDuMotier #ChâteauDeChavaniac #HeroOfTwoWorlds #18thCentury #France #History #FexingoHistory #TheStoryOfFrance Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo