Lafayette Hystory
By it's founder, Jean Tisserand

Lafayette was founded March 22, 1960 (thus making it the oldest active  micronation, with the exception of Landreth), when it became independent of the United States. I was 9 years old at the time, and ruled until October 1960 as King Harold. In October, a revolution took place, and Lafayette became a Republic, with myself (Harold Thomas) as President. Like Talossa, it had real territory and real inhabitants (10 at its height), but dissolved as the result of social pressure early in 1962, and Lafayette formally ceded its territory back to the United States. The territory of Lafayette was approximately 1 hectare, and was located in Greentown, Ohio (A good atlas should show both Akron and Canton in Ohio. Greentown is 22.5 km south of Akron and 14.5 km north of Canton). The following thirty-five years are known as the "Lafayette Diaspora". Two Lafayette residents, Jean Tisserand and Joie deFrance Drapeau, settled in Nouvelle Rouen in Porto Claro in the autumn of 1996. Following the then-usual practice in Porto Claro, we both used Portoclarian, rather than our real names. (This practice was abolished in 1997, but those of us who had been using our Portoclarian names were permitted to retain them). 

When Orange declared its independence November 15, 1997, the two of us emigrated from Nouvelle-Rouen, and established the Republic of Lafayette as one of the three constituent units of Orange (the others, of course, being
the Margravate of the Two Pirraines, and the Confederal Territories, which later became the Province of Utrecht). When the Orange Constitution was finalized in March 1998 (I think), the current system of provinces was established.

The Republic of Lafayette was modeled after the French First Republic, or Directory system (1795-1798), as established by the Constitution of the Year III. While the form existed, however, little of substance was done by the Republic. One notable achievement was the use of the French Revolutionary Calendar, using September 22, 1997 as the first day (1 Vendemaire) of the Year I (of Orange). The same calendar had been used in Nouvelle-Rouen following Tisserand's appointment as Governor, but using the Portoclarian year, dating from 1992. Lafayette was also instrumental in attempting a constructed language for Orange, known as Laranjian, being an interlanguage of Portuguese, English, and French; but again, the language was never widely adopted. 

I hope this was a good introduction. Feel free to ask me any questions you wish.

Harold D. Thomas
(Jean Tisserand)

The Tisserand Museum
October, 2000