majoring-in-ectobiology:tinyjacobin:This guy is Tadeusz Kosciuszko and honestly he’s one of my favor
majoring-in-ectobiology:tinyjacobin:This guy is Tadeusz Kosciuszko and honestly he’s one of my favorite figures in the American Revolution, and in history in general. His story is very interesting and, in terms of his role in the American Revolution, he’s vastly underrated. Born in Poland, he happened to be in France when the American Revolution broke out and efforts were being made to recruit officers there. While the war appealed to many French nobles as an opportunity for military glory, Kosciuszko was drawn in because of his support for Enlightenment values, human rights, and national sovereignty, influenced by his experience of growing up in Poland during a time of civil war and encroaching foreign powers. As an engineer and colonel, his contributions to the revolution were invaluable. After the war he returned to Europe and led a failed but significant revolt in his own country. He became close friends with Thomas Jefferson, who wrote that Kosciuszko was “the purest son of liberty… that I have ever known”. In his will, he set aside the money he received for his contributions in the American Revolution so that Jefferson could free his slaves. Spoiler: Jefferson still didn’t free them and I’m quite angry about this. Sadly, Kosciuszko died exiled from his home country, unsuccessful in his efforts to prevent Russia’s conquest of the Polish-Lithuanian Conquest or emancipate his peasants (Tsar Alexander refused), but his work was not forgotten and inspired future generations. Like Lafayette, he was truly a hero of two worlds.The painting is Kosciuszko at West Point by B.J. Czedekowski (1947)Fun fact: part of the reason he was in France at the time was because he fell in love with the daughter of a Polish-Lithuanian Noble but when the father found out he send thugs after poor Tadeusz so he fled to France because he had studdied there for years. Also he cried when he read the declaration of independence because it reflected all of his beliefs. -- source link
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#poland#thaddeus kosciuszko#18th century#szlachta#nobility