how did the french alliance contribute to the american revolution

This cat and mouse game was only part of the new turn in French policy. On July 23 he wrote a memoir to Louis XVI declaring that the moment had come when France must resolve either to abandon America or to aid her courageously and effectively. He urged a closer alliance to prevent a reunion of Britain and America. First off, the debt of the French Indian War was the reason parliament started imposing taxes on the colonist in the first place. He helped Beaumarchais buy and fit out eight ships, prudently scattered in various ports: the, Amphitrite, Mercure, Flammand, Mre Bobie, Seine, Thrse, Amelia, Delays which were not the fault of Deane and Beaumarchais held up most of the fleet for months after lading. The United States fought all the way through the war without a government. Because the future could somehow work in him he had become the sort of man coming generations would repeat. By 1763, France had suffered a crushing defeat in the Seven Years' War (more commonly called the "French and Indian War" in the U.S.), losing all its claims to mainland Canada and the Louisiana Territory. It was Carmichael who got the last of the Hortalez fleet on its way. Continental Congress established the Secret Committee of Correspondence to publicize the American cause in Europe. In a few swift parries Franklin suggested what his technique of dealing with the ministry would be. Nearing France, Dr. Franklin changed the captains orders. In November Congress resolved to recall Deane for questioning, and sent John Adams to take his place in the mission. Every man aboard was lost except the cook. The next day the Crown Council decided to conclude the alliance, and Vergennes rushed word to Passy that France would carry out her secret agreement of December 17 and fight at Americas side until her independence was won. During this period of watchful waiting, Franklin applied political pressure. That night boats brought his cannon and powder and a number of French seamen, and the Dunkirk Pirate was on his way. A growing fleet of American privateers had already brought prizes into the various French ports, and a system had been perfected for their disposal. He understood not only the practical mechanics of business but the direction it would take after the war; his economic thinking was often bold and creative. The power which first recognizes the independence of the Americans, he said, will be the one to gather all the fruits of this war.. She was starting out as a beggar at the court of Versailles, and she would have to keep on begging until the war was over. On the last day of the year the bad news arrived from Spain: Charles III was unwilling to enter an alliance with America. Moreover, importers of cannon and powder had to arm their merchantmen, and if their merchantmen were transformed into privateers, as many were, they needed a large supply of ammunition. Accordingly, the Doctor held his peace. On the surface Deanes rapid rise might seem the result of clever opportunism in marrying and winning the friendship of the right people. For all his enjoyment of high life and high-level intrigue, he was a seismograph about social upheavals and an intellectual who understood their necessity. His widening circle of intimates included people of great influence: Masons, scientists and scholars, men and women of the aristocracy. Lord North relayed the meticulous royal commands to the secret service, whose active head during the war was William Eden, a genius at directing espionage. It was a fine moment for his debut. Independence Lost: Lives on the Edge of the American Revolution. Long before it got into feeble action, eleven of the colonies had started their own navies, and several of them commissioned their own privateer fleets. Bancroft was still the mission confidant at Passy; certain Americans who sat at Deanes dinner table reported on ship movements to the British secret service, and Captain Joseph Hynson, who happened to be Lambert Wickess stepbrother, stole an entire pouch of dispatches intended for Congress, which contained all the secret correspondence between the mission and the French ministry for the last eight months. The Passy household was complete when the wise and enchanting Edward Bancroft arrived to act as general secretary of the mission. The two Lees and Izard were busily writing letters about the expected alliance. In this first interview the minister was lifted out of his discouragement by Franklins solid faith in the American destiny, and by his understanding of the whole European complex which made him able to suggest the right move at the right time rather than chimerical impossibilities. Many of the vessels loading up in French ports with arms for Washington were the private ventures of merchants whom Deane had inspired with confidence. He insisted on holding the conferences on Spanish soil at Vitoria; he wrote an ungracious memoir to Grimaldi and crossed the border. Grard, calling at Passy that evening, gave the commissioners a full report of the Cabinet meeting. He had come to the point where he must drop his perilous but always enjoyable collaboration with Franklin and play for France alone. On January 6 Wentworth was closeted for two hours with Franklin and Deane, having stipulated that Arthur Lee was to be excluded. Since France and Spain were not responding to the offer of a trade alliance, he raised his sights and proposed what amounted to a military one. He was a young man of complete integrity and far from ordinary gifts, whom Franklin could well have used in Paris. As such is their miserable policy, it is our business to force on a war for which purpose I see nothing so likely as fitting our privateers from the ports and islands of France. The misunderstanding was cleared up, but meanwhile Deane was bitter about Morris and bitter about the energies he had poured into his public life, only to be systematically destroyed by the Lees. The Treaty of Amity and Commerce recognized the U.S. as an independent nation and promoted trade between France and America. It was with the greatest difficulty, he wrote, I persuaded them to insist on the recognition of our sovereignty, and the acknowledgement of our independence. Since Charles III had already contributed a million livres to Hortalez & Company, and allowed New Orleans to become an American privateer base, he may well have thought that he had done his share. Franklin labored incessantly to get prisoners exchanged in the time-honored way, with only partial success. The idling envoys to Vienna, Berlin, and Tuscany not only buzzed around Passy day after day but tried to rewrite Franklins treaties. These three phases reveal an orderly progression in Franklins mind. This was the same thing as asking France and Spain to declare immediate war against Great Britain. Please support this 72-year tradition of trusted historical writing and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to American Heritage. February 6, 1778. In 1865, Edouard de Laboulaye (a French . He had spent years in Surinam and was an expert on tropical plants; he had written a natural history of Guiana and perfected new vegetable dyes for cloth. Franklin and Vergennes, knowing that Arthur Lee was dangerous as well as disagreeable, kept him out of the treaty negotiations as much as possible. He and his friend the Marquis de Bouille, the new governor of Martinique, had a privateer fleet with American masters and French and Spanish crews which was making itself felt in the Caribbean. It is true that these countries, and to some extent Spain, had for some time been shipping out contraband for America, mostly through their Caribbean islands. In that short interval he had seen his people take up arms for a desperate war, declare themselves a nation, and make the first cautious moves in foreign relations. As was demonstrated at the Battle of Yorktown, the French alliance was decisive for the cause of American independence. France Allied with American Colonies. Just a year after independence was declared the Americans lost Fort Ticonderoga to Burgoyne, and on September 26 Howe entered Philadelphia. A smuggling mechanism had long since been perfected, to the general salvation. Bancroft is entirely an American and every word he used on the late occasion was to deceive; perhaps they think Mr. Wentworth has been sent from motives of fear and if that is Franklins opinion the whole conduct he has shewn, is wise and to me it [unravels] what other ways would appear inexplicable.. Revolutionaries were inspired by the ideals of the Enlightenment including individual freedom. A few hours later Vergennes warned his royal master that it looked very much as if Britain had at last offered America her independence, opening the way to an alliance with the motherland. France was a long-term historical rival with the Kingdom of Great Britain, from which the Colonies were attempting to separate.. A Treaty of Alliance between the French and . If he had been a mere speculator in gunrunning like many of his compatriots, or an appropriator of Bourbon funds, as Arthur Lee claimed, he would have seen that the game was up. The Sugar Act, was made to try and stop the smuggling of sugar and molasses. King Louis XVI was born in 1754 and was pronounced king of France when he succeeded his grandfather in 1774. The powder was stolen; Bermuda was fed. Franklin had already done his utmost with the ministry, and there was nothing left but a new experimentwhat would much later be called psychological warfare. It inspired the French to launch their own revolution for liberty and equality. By a supple turn of the wrist, Franklin transformed Franco-American relations. The court of France, he wrote, is the great wheel that moves them all and he added that of all posts he preferred Paris for himself. Nothing was a dead secret at Passy. To license content, please contact licenses [at] americanheritage.com. During the American Revolution, the American colonies faced the significant challenge of conducting international diplomacy and seeking the international support it needed to fight against the British. In his contract Bancroft agreed to a long list of particulars. Most of them were of no earthly use to the Commander in Chief and drained an impoverished Congress of money and patience. Franklin insisted that Arthur Lee was mad, and perhaps only a madman could have created a cabal of such malignity and scope out of nothing but his own emotions. His contacts with his British employers revealed a quite different side, deformed by cupidity and fear. Both revolutions began due to the financial problems in their countries. Following hard on the American Revolution (1776-83), the sweeping aside of the French feudal order demonstrated the irresistible rise of freedom and enlightenment. The currency had fallen to half its value. Vergennes was alarmed. Moreover, a certain project which he may have discussed with Morris and Wickes was developing in his mind, and he needed to find out how France would react if prizes were brought into Nantes. The time had come to invite Wentworth in. Introduction. The French navy transported reinforcements, fought off a British fleet, and protected Washington's forces in . He went back to London in a fury. "Rear alliance"), aiming at allying with countries situated on the opposite side or "in the back" of an adversary, in order to open a second front encircling the adversary and thus re . By a natural process the activities of the mission were divided. Hundreds of privateers were at their work of economic attrition, wearing down Britains strength by blows against her merchant shipping. The colonies could not conclude treaties until they declared themselves a nation, and the necessity of getting military supplies and the support of a powerful fleet did a great deal to hasten independence. The traffic which had started about 1770 was very large. Even though some consider King Louis to just be a contributor he . Like the first conflict of that name, it was a period of intermittent warfare and political and economic rivalry between the two powers. On May 2, 1776, Louis XVI signed documents committing France to action as a secret American ally, in violation of her treaties with Britain. A new nation had emerged, and in time each individual would realize his new identity. Now he felt the reinforcement of those thousands of his countrymen who had won the campaign in the North. The Declaration of Independence served as a model for the French Revolution. But he was needed more in Nantes. But Beaumarchais had already outlined his plan for Hortalez & Company in a memoir to the King, and he persuaded Vergennes that this was the perfect device for concealing the Bourbon conspiracy against Britain. People heavily associate the French Revolution with the American Revolution, due to the many general similarities. They found the star of them all in Dunkirk. The man who believed there was never a good war or a bad peace was about to use all his powers to sweep the Bourbon nations into the War of Independence. Here are five ways the French helped Americans win their freedom. Knowing George III as he did, Franklin realized the importance of insulting him while all Europe looked on. Franklin knew that Vergennes, who for years had befriended America, would scuttle her the instant she ceased to serve his purpose. He was to steal all original papers possible from the commissioners, and copy others. Temple Franklin was only seventeen, but he was working out well as his grandfathers personal secretary, patiently making several copies of important papers to be sent on different ships bound for home in the hope that at least one copy would arrive safely. Americans, for instance, were forbidden to trade directly with foreign countries or with the foreign islands of the Caribbean, except in a few commodities which could be sold under cumbersome and expensive restrictions. Franklin and Deane now wrote the committee urging action in every sea where British carried on commerce. Besides, five British warships blockaded the harbor. The French Revolution was influenced by the experiences and systems of other nations. As far as brains and ability went, Deane belonged in the first rank of the men doing the hard immediate tasks of the Revolution. Hodge was not released until the last of the fishing fleet was safely home in France. Franklin knew what he had won for his beloved country. There was no good news at Passy. By late June the captain and his men were released from jail, and the Revenge was loaded with powder and arms. Soon Beaumarchaiss coach was tearing down the road to Paris so fast that it overturned and he injured an arm. Some of them were British merchants; others were American sea captains who could be trusted to deliver letters or verbal messages to people on the Continent. As soon as Arthur Lee arrived from London the three commissioners wrote Vergennes announcing their appointment to negotiate a treaty of amity and commerce with France. Whereas French intervention in the war would help turn the tide in favor of the Americans, the debt it incurred would contribute to the later French Revolution (1789-1799 . Economic historians will recognize the invaluable research and work of two individuals in particular that this article draws from: Merrill Jensen, and . Franklin insisted on British recognition of American independence and refused to consider a peace separate from France, America's staunch ally. Dr. Bancroft was an old friend of Franklins from his London days. Between 1778 and 1782 the French provided supplies, arms and ammunition, uniforms, and, most importantly, troops and naval support to the beleaguered Continental Army. Once he was installed as sole envoy in Paris, I should have it in my power to call those to account, through whose hands I know the public money has passed, and which will either never be accounted for, or misaccounted for, by connivance between those, who are to share in the public plunder. The fight for American independence piqued the interest of Europe's most powerful colonial powers. Most of the supply was still down in the Caribbean, but the fact remains that there must have been more powder on the continent than the various colonies and the merchants were willing to release to Congress. For 70 years, American Heritage has been the leading magazine of U.S. history, politics, and culture. Focusing on the British government and the problems it faced in 1764, explained why its ministers considered introducing a stamp tax in colonial America. Dubourg, said the archivist, amassed arms with the help of the brilliant new foreign minister, the Comte de Vergennes, who was determined to make the American rebellion a success; and Montaudoin shipped this contraband to America. She threaded the colonies and Britain with her spies; Versailles knew much better than Whitehall how the Revolution was shaping. America could fight only her own sort of war on the seas, and this had started before Lexington and would continue long after Yorktown. Copyright 1949-2022 American Heritage Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved. When Deane arrived in Paris in the summer of 1776 Arthur Lee rushed over from London. father of philippine opera; carver high school columbus, ga football roster; robert cabal cause of death; . Their poison letter campaign was reinforced by the arrival of Ralph Izard, a southern planter and rancid snob. What major problem did the Continental army face in the winter of 1777? British spies were everywhere. Much later Wentworth revealed the trick: the night before the official inspection Wickes had pumped water into the hold. What was the intended purpose of the Albany Congress in 1754? The joint conquest was proposed of Canada, the Floridas, and the British West Indies. Much of the maddening delay in dispatching the ships was caused by Vergennes. This must not happen again. War profiteering was pandemic. After the scheme had been put into effect they explained the mechanism to their committee: For though the fitting out [of an American vessel in a French port] may be covered and concealed by various pretenses, so at least to be winked at by the Government here yet the bringing in of prizes by a vessel so fitted out is so notorious an act, and so contrary to treaties, that if suffered must cause an immediate war.. The Continental Navy would never be able to take on the larger British units. He radiated reassurance like one of his own stoves; the warmth and charm of his personality masked his Merlin powers. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French people commemorating the alliance of France and the United States during the American Revolution. Students will analyze maps, treaties, congressional records, first-hand accounts, and correspondence to determine the different roles assumed by Native Americans in the American Revolution and understand why the various groups formed the alliances they did. For once Wentworth brought the King good news, the only kind he could ever believe. It led the French to seek an alliance with the Americans to dethrone Louis XVI. Vergennes sensed that the benign old Doctor was ready to fence with naked steel, that he perfectly realized France was playing the old game of power rivalry, and that he would co-operate in the gameup to a pointto keep France as an ally. Deane arranged to meet Wentworth at dinner a day or so later, and Franklin took care to tell the minister what was afoot. Bancroft was a supreme spy, but he preserved a curious code of his own, almost a code of honor, about what he would or would not do. Late in May Captain Wickes made a cruise quite around Ireland in company with two other captains and captured eighteen small vessels. It had only an overworked legislature trying to perform administrative functions. Representatives of the French and American governments signed the Treaty of Alliance and a Treaty of Amity and Commerce on February 6, 1778. But the accident was symbolic: Hortalez & Company had suffered a bouleversement . On the very day the French ministry decided for the alliance, Paul Wentworth was back in Paris. He had sent some of his baggage ahead to Florence, never dreaming that an Izard would not be received in the duchy. Wickes took two small merchantmen which ran down their colors with alacrity. It was a delusion that cost him and the country dear and brought no profit to Tom Morris. He had made Saratoga possible. D.) It caused many French nobles and clergy to move to the newly independent United States. These were proposed by your friend [A. Lee], evaded by his colleagues.. Our want of powder is inconceivable, wrote Washington in the bitter early days of the Revolution. They were in the best possible hands; Captain Lambert Wickes was one of the few masters seasoned in the merchant fleet who had joined the Continental Navy. America needed French aid of every sort: ships, supplies, loans, to begin with. Washington was the War Department, Robert Morris at various times was Treasury and Navy and always was Commerce, and Franklin was the Department of State. By this process of elastic diplomacy the amenities were preserved while both sides gained time for war preparations and spared their exchequers the drain of active hostilities. As the French Revolution was inspired by the American Revolution, it is easy to determine that the two must have similarities. It led the French to seek an alliance with the Americans to dethrone Louis XVI. The French and Indian War was the North American conflict that was part of a larger imperial conflict between Great Britain and France known as the Seven Years' War. He was a smaller copy of Robert Morris and aspired to become a great international merchant like his friend. However, the Grand Duke was not receiving Mr. Izard or any American, so he remained in Paris near William Lee, who had been similarly repulsed by two courts: Vienna and Berlin. Getting a fleet for Washington was high on Franklins agenda. DuVal, Kathleen. From May, 1777, to May, 1778, Congress would receive no direct word from its mission in Paris. In mid-November George III, who had no intention of starting a war with France, decided it would be useful to know the Spanish plans and sent Paul Wentworth to Paris to find out how Charles III stood. Over the course of the war, France contributed an estimated 12,000 soldiers and 32,000 sailors to the American war effort. Captain Pearson of the Speedwell had orders to follow any suspected American ship out to the open sea and there arrest her. Hortalez & Company now became what it had always pretended to bea private concernand he kept on sending supplies to the United States until after Yorktown. The American Revolution of 1775-1789, which concluded as the revolution in France was unfolding, was perhaps the most significant. When Colonel Tucker told Franklin and Morris that there was a respectable supply of gunpowder in the royal arsenal at St. Georges which could be abstracted in a midnight raid, a bargain was struck. But Bancroft was in the most strategic position of any informer, and his conduct at Passy was mysterious. From 1790 to 1794, the revolutionaries grew increasingly radical. Compared to the antics of the French Revolution, the infamous Tea Party in Boston was like the sisters at the convent sneaking into the dorm of the rival convent and shorting their sheets. Bermuda, which barely escaped becoming the fourteenth state, had a large merchant colony on the Dutch island, and there sold her American friends the thousand fine cedar sloops she built or refitted for them. Franklin took charge of diplomatic duties, Arthur Lee undertook missions to Spain and Prussia which happily kept him out of Paris at a crucial period, and Deane continued his commercial activities. No charge was made against Deane, but for two years Congress kept him in Philadelphia at its pleasure while the press vilified him. The two Lee brothers in Congress saw that their brothers in London were put in posts of influence. With a fur cap on his unwigged gray head, Franklin took up his studies of the Gulf Stream where he had dropped them on his voyage home from England. Congress had sent the King the Olive Branch Petition, which paralyzed war efforts for many months. Deane was in and out of the Passy house, keeping his hotel quarters for business and the entertaining of transient sea captains and a horde of friends. Sailcloth and shoes, embroidered waistcoats and fusils, cannon and wig powder were crated and piled on the docks for shipment to the country that needed everything. At any rate, they had bobbed up in Philadelphia and obtained the first publicized arms contract between Congress and foreign shippers. When the royal nod transmogrified Beaumarchais into Roderigue Hortalez, he wrote Lee over that signature, announcing the formation of his house and his intended shipments to the Cape, to be paid for by remittances of American tobacco. However, when Franklin arrived in Paris, Bancroft was in an ideal position to watch the Kings most dangerous enemy, and he made a good bargain with the secret service. In this desperate situation a few individuals took over as heads of non-existent departments.

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