and the Bishops came back to Metz. Later, an Intendant and a Bailiff were sent to enforce the king's authority in the city, ending ultimately the Republic of Metz in 1634. The Peace of Westphalia recognized de jure Metz as part the Kingdom of France in 1648, and the city was selected as capital of the Three Bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun. Metz was then a strategic fortified town of France with the erection of a citadel by Vauban and Cormontaigne
During the 18th century, the population of city largely embraced the ideas carried by the Enlightenment and latter French Revolution. In 1775, Lafayette met the Marquis of Ruffec and the Duke of Gloucester in the present-day courthouse and decided to support the American Revolutionary War. Also, future revolutionary leader Maximilien de Robespierre and abolitionist Abbé Grégoire were awarded by the National Academy of Metz in 1784 and 1787, respectively, for their essays on capital punishment and in favor of the education of underprivileged people and the religious tolerance. With creation of the departments by the Estates-General of 1789, Metz became the capital of the Department of Moselle. General François Christophe Kellermann led the local Army of the Moselle during the French Revolutionary Wars, notably at the decisive Battle of Valmy against the Prussian troops. During the Reign of Terror, a guillotine for executions has been erected on the forecourt of the Metz's opera house, the former Equality's square and present-day Comedy's square.
Later, the Sixth Coalition besieged Metz during the campaign of 1814 against the Napoleonic France, but was unable to take the city defended by General Pierre François Joseph Durutte and his army. During the Second French Empire, Metz hosted in 1861 the 4th universal world's fair on the Republic square and the Esplanade garden.
The Franco-Prussian War and the German annexation
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