how did the french alliance contribute to the american revolution how did the french alliance contribute to the american revolution

Ferreiro, Larrie D. Brothers at Arms: American Independence and the Men of France & Spain Who Saved It. This was amazing enough; France had broken through the limits of her ostensible neutrality and was allowing Martinique to become a base of war against Britain. In the summer of 1775 Colonel Henry Tucker, whose clan dominated island affairs, came to Philadelphia in a state of worry and resentment. If General Howe had guessed that, he could have ended the war then and there. England registered the expected sense of outrage; the whole country seethed with the news. He had never outgrown some early drive to make the blacksmiths son a great gentleman. The Declaration was passed with independence a hope on the far side of a hopeless-seeming war. Since George III was violently against a war with the Bourbons these warnings disturbed him, but they did not change his fixed purpose to bully the colonies into obedience. 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. It made the French . The Battle of Saratoga was an extensive and punishing conflict and a key victory for the Americans in the Revolutionary War. 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. France and Britain drifted into hostilities without a declaration of war when their fleets off Ushant off the northwest coast of France on June 17, 1778. It inspired the French to launch their own revolution for liberty and equality. He waited until the Revenge was safely out of Dunkirk, and then he and the commissioners exchanged letters, purely to clear the record, about the necessity of France abiding by her treaties, which meant no more violations by American privateers. Ironically, this was one of the key factors that caused the revolution in the first place. Conyngham was still in the Dunkirk jail, the only safe place for him. The French loan was a godsend. This rule was so thoroughly disobeyed that great shipping houses like Willing & Morris of Philadelphia kept factors, or at least correspondents, all over Europe and the Caribbean to take care of their trade. With the appointment of the mission to France the affairs of the two secret committees were theoretically unscrambled; the commissioners were to take charge of foreign relations, and young Tom Morris of commercial matters. 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. Franklin comforted himself by beginning his magnificent work for the prisoners at Forton and the Old Mill in England, masters and men of the Continental Navy and the privateer fleet who were classed as pirates by George III and who sickened and starved in his antiquated prisons. During Franklins years in London he had watched the old power pattern repeat itself. It caused many French nobles and clergy to move to the newly independent United States. He was annoyed to find that Bancroft was in London, making contact with the mission rather difficult. There must be a breaking point somewhere in his patience. 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. The letter announcing his imminent arrival in Madrid was received with consternation. When Stormont appeared at Versailles Vergennes assured him that the Reprisal and her prizes had been ordered to leave French waters within 24 hours. If he had written the true story of his life as a drama no audience would have believed it. If this scheme can be executed, it will disconcert all the plans at one stroke, without an appearance of intention, and save both the public and me.. The involvement of France in the American War of Independence (1775-1783) was not only significant in the progress of the war itself but also as a critical moment for France. But the accident was symbolic: Hortalez & Company had suffered a bouleversement . 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 . But Deane was not interested; he showed great American pride, Wentworth wrote Eden. Had France lost the race for American friendship? Free subscription>>, Please consider a donation to help us keep this American treasure alive. It happened that Franklin and Morris were the only members of the Committee of Secret Correspondence in town when the courier arrived, and they resolved to keep the news to themselves. Franklin had a share in preserving the friendship between the mainland and Bermuda at a moment when it was severely strained. All George III had to offer his erring children, who would of course return to colonial status, was the repeal of the obnoxious acts since 1763, which had precipitated the war. This was interesting; evidently the expected overture from England was at hand. The first similarity between the two revolutions are their origins. Deane was up to his neck in business affairs and was essential to their success, for Tom Morris was clearly unfit to carry out any operation but commandeering cargoes from Congress to finance his endless debauch. He sent his first secretary, Grard de Rayvenal, to Passy with his congratulations and the suggestion that Franklin might now press the treaty negotiation which France had avoided for nearly a year. Soon the old names were changed to the Committee of Foreign Affairs and the Commercial Committee to make this distinction clear. Here we are too near the sun, and the business is dangerous; with you it may be done more easily.. 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.. Moreover, orders would be given for British warships to seize the French fishing fleet daily expected from the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Later that year, the Franco-American army marched 700 miles south to besiege Gen. Charles Cornwallis' British army at Yorktown, while . 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. Much of the maddening delay in dispatching the ships was caused by Vergennes. The French Revolution was one of the most senseless . The British drive through the Jerseys threatened Philadelphia, and in December Congress evacuated to Baltimore, where it remained until February. And Spanish concurrence in the alliance must be won. Economic historians will recognize the invaluable research and work of two individuals in particular that this article draws from: Merrill Jensen, and . Franklin was a shrewd judge of men, and his unclouded confidence in Bancroft needs some extraordinary explanation. 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. 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. Then he captured the Kings packet Swallow , running between Falmouth and Lisbon. Vergennes kept him safe in jail, for the minister was co-operating with Franklins policy up to a dangerous point. Franklin found that the American stock had lately plunged to its lowest point. By October Beaumarchais had spent the original 2,000,000 livres from the Bourbon kings, plus another million from France, and 2,600,000 livres in the form of credit from French merchants. In order to bring the reluctant enemies to blows he had to influence chiefly two men: George III, who was just as set against a French war as he was adamant in the American conflict, and Vergennes, the mentor of a young and inexperienced king. Many of them were now flocking to Europe, for the word had been passed of the hospitality of French and Spanish ports if the proper techniques of evasion were followed. Similar to MORE In short, England and the Bourbons had tacitly agreed that their war might be postponed indefinitelyand while they dallied, physical danger and sickening of hope were paralyzing America. A.) 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. Congress was shipping them tobacco, furs, and other valuable products to buy war supplies and ships, but Tom Morris and Penet claimed every cargo arriving in France. The American Revolution had a multifaceted effect in France, extending the national debt, contributing . But Bancroft was in the most strategic position of any informer, and his conduct at Passy was mysterious. He had made Saratoga possible. Lee could not bear to lose Beaumarchais and tried to detach him from Deane. On May 2, 1776, Louis XVI signed documents committing France to action as a secret American ally, in violation of her treaties with Britain. Vergennes sent an agent, Achard de Bonvouloir, to Philadelphia to sound out Franklin about the prospects of a separation from England and a successful war. It is hard to see how the patriots could have started their war, or kept it going, without the help of the islanders. Bancroft had sped to London, mainly to make a killing on the stock market, but he would not fail to bring George III the bad news. France's Debt Problems. Lee next stormed Prussia. As the French Revolution was inspired by the American Revolution, it is easy to determine that the two must have similarities. Focusing on the British government and the problems it faced in 1764, explained why its ministers considered introducing a stamp tax in colonial America. By April American privateers had taken so many British seamen prisoner that the British fleet was not half manned, and Stormont hinted to Vergennes that peace could not last much longer if France continued to arm the United States. was a war only between the French and the Native Americans. The chief French ammunition dumps were Martinique and Cap Franois (now Cap Haitien) on Santo Domingo, known to seagoing Americans simply as the Cape. The Spanish shipped to New Orleans and Havana, and the British chose islands convenient to Washingtons chief arsenal, the Dutch island of St. Eustatia. The Reprisal was carrying a cargo of indigo worth 3,000 which was intended to pay the early expenses of the Paris mission. Young Gustavus Conyngham of the landed Irish gentry had emigrated as a boy to Philadelphia where his relatives were prominent shipping merchants. However, Franklin was a wizard at intrigue, and many secrets lie with him in the Christ Church burying ground. Their difficulties in shipping out supplies to America were also greatly increased, for Lee had set down everything he could learn without coding it. His policy was to reconcile Britain and the United States; never, if he could help it, would Spain go to war on the American side. Discovering that point at which the common interests of France and the United States diverged would be a delicate task, and also an enjoyable one since he was matching wits with Franklin. The copies of his early correspondence with Beaumarchais proved that he knew better. The British had many other secret agents in France, and other avenues of information. Britain won the Seven Years War and imposed the Peace of Paris which bred the next cycle of conflict with the Continental powers. If Conyngham was not punished, Stormont would resign, breaking off diplomatic relations with France. 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. Wentworths connection with the secret service was not suspected; Franklin regarded him as a former patriot who had joined the Tory ranks and must be treated with caution.