Levasseur is better known in the English-speaking world as the personal secretary of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, during his last visit to the United States, from July 1824 to September 1825.
[2] After gaining prominence through the publication of Lafayette's memories (or travel log) Levasseur became active in the French international arena.
In 1838 he was appointed as consul to Haiti with the tasks of ensuring the indemnity payment that President Jean-Pierre Boyer had agreed in 1825 and of bringing the young Black Republic closer to a protectorate with France.
[3][4] In 1843, while Haiti struggled between new reform liberal forces and the independence movement in the east, Levasseur involved himself in the internal politics by suggesting to Dominican leaders the idea of becoming a protectorate of France.
This plan did not work, and Levasseur is seen today as an example of unwelcome imperial intervention in the postcolonial world for Haitian and Dominican authors alike.