Because I will never shut up about this man, let me introduce you to the Chevalier de Saint-Georges.
born Joseph Bologne in Guadeloupe to plantation owner Joseph Bologne and his Senegalese slave Nanon (Anne), Saint-George’s father took Nanon and her son to Paris and set up house with them there when Saint-Georges was a child
Saint-Georges received the best of educations that his father could provide, including the best of fencing instructors and music. At 13, he enrolled in Académie royale polytechnique des armes et de ‘l’équitation.
by his teens, Saint-Georges was acknowledged as one of the best fencers in the country and gave at least one racist fencer master an absolute drubbing. His dad was so proud of him that he bought him the equivalent of a car :) (Horse and buggy)
at 21, he was named Gendarme du roi (officer of the king’s bodyguard) and a chevalier.
from here to the revolution, his life was wild.
He became famous as a virtuoso composer and violinist and was even offered the role as conductor of the Paris Opera, but his name was dropped from consideration after racist singers said they wouldn’t perform for someone of his ethnicity.
However, that’s when Marie-Antoinette went “well, if they don’t want him, I’ll have him!” and installed him as part of her band. No, really. They had musical salons and he would play violin and she would play whatever-the-piano-thing-of-fashion-was.
He was hot. A contemporary wrote that “he loved and was loved” by the women of the court.
Aside from the fencing and music, he was also a keen sportsman and could ice skate and box with the best of them.
There was also speculation that he was a spy for France in the years leading up to the revolution. He spent a lot of time in England and was given ready access to the Prince of Wales’s court as a novelty, which gave him a lot of access to a lot of powerful people.
He was also a staunch and active abolitionist to the point that the slave-owning aristocrats in London tried to have him assassinated. It was meant to look like a botched robbery, but the assassins underestimated the fastest fencer in France and all four of them got their arses kicked and Saint-Geoges dusted himself off and went on his way to perform in a concert.
He was leader of the first all-black French battalion in the French army, which included the man who would end up as General Dumas, the father of Alexandre Dumas. The legion was named after Saint-Georges when he distinguished himself in combat.
When the revolution came, he - the son of a slave and a man who had been derided and belittled for his heritage for his entire life - chose the side of the revolution.
In conclusion, he was a fascinating, talented and complex man at the forefront of French royal life for 30-odd years, and I have yet to see any Marie-Antoinette based films/shows that actually even have him in the background.
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