| − | The '''Marquis de Lafayette''', (Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier) was a French nobleman, who at the age of 19 formed a militia and arrived in North America to assist the colonists in the [[War of Independence]]. He later emerged during the [[French Revolution]], initially as a revolutionary and later as a more conservative force. | + | The '''Marquis de Lafayette''', (Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier) was a French nobleman. He emerged during the American War of Independence and later during the [[French Revolution]], initially as a revolutionary and later as a more conservative force. |
| | + | Lafayette was orphaned at a young age on the death of his weathy land owner parents. He married at sixteen to a fourteen year old girl, before travelling at at the age of 19 formed a militia and arrived in North America to assist the colonists in the [[War of Independence]]. He gained such influence that he helped write the American Consititution, which was later to be of use in assisting to write the French version. |