- "We walk always between two abysses. Care and moderation is our path forward."
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), commonly known as Lafayette, was a French nobleman, best known for volunteering to join George Washington's Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, becoming a commanding officer. After his return to France, he became a leading figure in the French Revolutions of 1789 and 1830. He is a leader in Civilization VII.
Intro[]
Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette, made his mark on two continents, leading troops in the American Revolution, and being a voice of reason in France, between the twin horrors of autocracy and revolutionary retribution. While his legacy is impressive, his most skillful feat may simply be survival at the center of some of the greatest tumult of his time.
In-Game[]
Lafayette has the Cultural and Diplomatic attributes. His default colors are cyan and blue.
His leader ability is Hero of Two Worlds. It grants him a unique Endeavor, Reform, which grants an additional Social Policy slot for him and the leader that supports it. He also gains +1 
Combat Strength for all Units for each Tradition, but not Policy, slotted in the Government, and +1 
Culture and 
Happiness per Age on all Settlements, doubled if they are in Distant Lands.
His agenda is French Quarters. His Relationship increases by a Small Amount with the player with the most Urban Districts with all Building slots filled, and decreases by a Small Amount with the player with the least Urban Districts.
Strategy[]
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Lines[]
Lafayette is voiced by Nicolas Collombet. He speaks Modern French.
| Line | Quote (English translation) | Quote (Modern French) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quote | We walk always between two abysses. Care and moderation is our path forward. (lit. "We walk constantly between two abysses; caution and moderation are the path to follow.") | Nous marchons sans cesse entre deux abîmes; la précaution et la modération sont le chemin à suivre. | This quote references the roles Lafayette played during the American and French Revolutions. |
| Greeting | Just Citizen Lafayette, s'il vous plait. (lit. "Simply Citizen Lafayette, please.") | Simplement Citoyen La Fayette, s'il vous plaît. | |
| Attacked | Tyranny is strong. Liberty is stronger. (lit. "Tyranny is powerful, freedom even more so.") | La tyrannie est puissante la liberté encore plus. | |
| Declares War | Thus always to tyrants. | Sic semper tyrannis. | Lafayette says this quote in Latin. |
| Accepts Player's Deal | Yes, yes, this is sensible. (lit. "Certainly yes, this is reasonable.") | Certes oui, cela est raisonnable. | |
| Rejects Player's Deal | Please, this is unreasonable. | S'il vous plaît, ceci est déraisonnable. | |
| Defeat | To go with so much left undone! To depart with a dream yet unfulfilled? (lit. "To leave with so much left hanging, to leave this world while my dream remains unfinished?") | Partir avec tant de choses laissé en suspens, quitter ce monde alors que mon rêve reste inachevé? |
Leader Path[]
| Level | Unlocks |
|---|---|
| 2 |  Letter to Adrienne |
| 3 | Cultural Attribute Node
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| 4 | Exploration Cultural Legacy Card |
Exploration Diplomatic Legacy Card
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| 5 |  Hermione Model |
| 6 | Lafayette Badge 1
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Lafayette Banner
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| 7 | Diplomatic Attribute Node
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| 8 | Modern Cultural Legacy Card |
Modern Diplomatic Legacy Card
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| 9 |  Tricolor Cockade |
| 10 | Lafayette Badge 2
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Hero of Two Worlds
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Civilopedia entry[]
The Marquis de Lafayette is a figure associated with revolution who emerged when the world seemed in flux. What is the role of nobility? What rights inherently belong to men (and women) – and which men and women? These issues came to the fore in the mid-18th century. As empires flourished, they promoted certain well-off classes; tradesmen and businessmen grew increasingly influential and powerful – the aristocracy even more so. But these groups desire very different things from the government. This tension set the stage for the American Revolution…and France’s involvement.
France had long been England’s rival, so we cannot read too much into the ideology behind the French crown's support of American revolutionaries. The French had warred with the English over the domination of Canada in the French and Indian War (and lost), but this was a small prelude to the larger Seven Years’ War – a massive colonial conflict between nearly all European powers. From a French perspective, the American colonies' declaration of independence was one theater of a larger Anglo-French clash.
In all of these conflicts, the Marquis de Lafayette took part.
Lafayette is not a name; it is a title. He is the Marquis (a step below a duke) of La Fayette, but his full name is Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier. His family was old and noble, dating back to Joan of Arc’s time. He had no right to be a revolutionary, and certainly no need. Yet his conscience drove him – as did revenge.
Lafayette’s father was killed by a British cannonball. As a very young man, he left for America to assist the French efforts to undermine British ambitions. In America, he was influential as a naval commander, especially in the decisive Battle of Yorktown, during which the French artillery trapped British naval divisions and captured the British commander, causing an American victory.
After the end of the American Revolution, Lafayette returned to a still-simmering Paris. The French Revolution was brewing, as commoners called for reforms and, eventually, a dissolution of the monarchy – a move ironically inspired by the American Revolution that the French monarchy had supported. But the French Revolution was not a single revolution that conclusively lopped off kings’ heads to bring about the rule of the people; it was a cycle from republic to monarchy to dictatorial empire and back again. Old kings retook the throne…and generals crowned themselves new kings.
Lafayette managed to keep a humanist center amidst this ideological, and very real, chaos. He epitomizes a certain kind of liberal politician – “liberal” meaning the acknowledged rights and fundamental independence of the individual. Famously driven by principles, he did not hesitate to stand against his friends if he disagreed with them. He descended from noble blood but was an advocate for (restrained) revolution. He was a close friend of American revolutionaries with large plantations (George Washington and Thomas Jefferson) but had a lifelong opposition to slavery. He managed to be in the direct center of the French Revolution and avoid being killed, even when those to his left and right were being guillotined.
Upon his return to France, he was hailed as the “Hero of Two Worlds.” In France, he was key in solidifying American and French ties, although he advocated strongly for the abolition of slavery and for negotiating peace with the Haudenosaunee. He also helped with the drafting of the American Constitution, becoming an American citizen by that process (before the concept had even come to France!).
Some years later, France was spiraling towards its crisis. The King appointed Lafayette as his representative to an assembly of nobles, but Lafayette called for more popular participation and a diminishing of royal power, creating the National Assembly. With Jefferson’s help, he wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Man, a document that has had a wide-ranging influence on the growth of democracies worldwide.
As an aside, he designed the insignia of the National Guard with red, white, and blue colors that were to become the French flag – red and blue being the colors of Paris and white the color of the monarchy (though Lafayette himself insisted that white represented the French nation, and not the Bourbon dynasty).
Lafayette presented this Declaration to the Assembly with great success, but things rapidly moved out of his hands. The Assembly wanted a Constitution, and the King refused to provide it. The monarchy retrenched and the Third Estate (the peasants) rose up to take over particular sites, most notably the infamous prison, the Bastille. To keep order, the Assembly created the National Guard of France with the noble Lafayette in command. This offered a shaky truce, but Lafayette was capable. For example, when the National Guard marched on the palace to deliver the Declaration to the king, the people broke into the Palace of Versailles, and Lafayette ushered the royal family out to a balcony overlooking the crowd. When people cried “Shoot her,” referring to Marie Antoinette, Lafayette kissed her hand, diverting a massacre (which was still to come) into a public show of royalist piety.
This was Lafayette’s political role in a nutshell. He was an Enlightenment advocate for liberty, and he adopted revolutionary ideas that prioritized the good of individual people, their natural rights, and the nation. However, he was also a constitutional monarchist – he wanted the king to live under those same rules, not be a god on earth. He was a consummate diplomat.
But there was more to come. Imprisoned in the palace under Lafayette’s eye, the king tried to escape, and Lafayette took the blame. After a royalist massacre of revolutionaries, Lafayette’s reputation was fatally wounded. In a final attempt to maintain the center, he rallied against the radical Jacobins, but as these revolutionaries gained more power and influence, his reputation was further ruined. The royal family was imprisoned (and ready for the chopping block). Lafayette fled.
Time passed. Revolutionary France gave rise to Napoleon and eventually the restoration of the monarchy. And the monarchy was up to its old tricks; Charles X wanted absolute power, so Lafayette was called in to negotiate. When Charles removed the bourgeoisie's ability to vote (these were the property-owning commoners and artisans), he sparked another revolution, one that did not lead to a new Republic but placed yet another king on the throne of France – under Lafayette’s suggestion. This monarch also turned out to be an autocrat, giving rise to the failed June Rebellion (which lives on as the inspiration for “Les Misérables”). Lafayette died soon after.
Lafayette has several legacies. In the United States, he was heralded as a hero, largely due to his charm and his young age. Washington saw the young Lafayette as a kind of foster son, and the other revolutionaries were impressed by his devotion to the cause.
In France, his legacy is more complicated. He worked tirelessly as a moderate voice, combining constitutional monarchy with Enlightenment ideas of the rights of man. While Lafayette’s dream for France never fully took shape in his time, it did materialize in America (except for the preservation of slavery, which Lafayette opposed).
His Declaration of the Rights of Man has also been profoundly influential, inspiring women’s suffragette movements in the US, the Latin American revolutions of the early 18th century, and even Ho Chi Minh’s Vietnamese revolution in 1945.
Trivia[]
- Lafayette's leader ability is one of his epithets, celebrating his achievements in both the American and French Revolutions, while his agenda may reference the multiple cities named after him in the United States.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
First Look- Lafayette - Civilization VII
First Look: Lafayette
Related achievements[]
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Had the last Lafayette.
Win the modern age as Lafayette.
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See also[]
- Lafayette in other games