Based on archival research in Europe and the United States, this authoritative study tells the fascinating story of Beaumarchais's role in the American War of Independence as an owner and outfitter of ships and as an arms merchant. It chronicles his dealings with Louis XVI, Vergennes, Benjamin Franklin, and the American Continental Congress and recounts his family's struggle to receive payment for the weapons and materials sent to the American colonists.

The outrageous true story of the French plot to supply arms and ammunition to Washington's Continental Army, and the bold French spy, inventor, playwright, and rogue behind it all

Excerpt from Beaumarchais and "the Lost Million" A Chapter of the Secret History of the American Revolution To this man our forefathers were told in the early days of the Revolution to look for succor and safety. The more they heard about him the more completely did his position seem a mystery and riddle to them. To their sober and practical minds it was hard to conceive of him as a benefi cent fairy who, unsolicited, was willing to send us millions of dollars' worth of the supplies we most needed to carry on the war, and who, as they were told by Arthur Lee, the earliest American commissioner in Europe, never suggested that he was to be paid for them, but merely hinted that it would be well for Congress to make him certain shipments of tobacco to conceal his transactions from the English. The Americans had no experience of merchants who carried on business in this way. It was not their interest, however, to inquire too closely into the source from which these supplies came, and they were inclined to settle down into the belief that Beaumarchais was a convenient frag-mm for the French government, which had so many reasons for encouraging us in our resistance, and so many more to conceal the aid it was giving us in our struggle with Great Britain. Whatever the Secret Committee or the Committee on Commerce of the old Congress may have thought or suspected, they did not, so long as the military supplies were provided in reasonable abundance, inquire with too much curiosity into their source. They accepted them with thankfulness, not doubting that they would discover in due time to whom they were indebted. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

From the author of Without Precedent and Indivisible, the gripping true story of how three men used espionage, betrayal, and sexual deception to help win the American Revolution. Unlikely Allies is the story of three remarkable historical figures. Silas Deane was a Connecticut merchant and delegate to the Continental Congress as the American colonies struggled to break with England. Caron de Beaumarchais was a successful playwright who wrote The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro. And the flamboyant and mysterious Chevalier d'Éon⁠—officer, diplomat, and sometime spy⁠—was the talk of London and Paris. Is the Chevalier a man or a woman? When Deane is sent to France to convince the French government to support the revolutionary cause, he enlists the help of Beaumarchais. Together, they successfully smuggle weapons, ammunition, and supplies to New England just in time for the crucial Battle of Saratoga, which turned the tide of the American Revolution. And the catalyst for Louis XVI's support of the Americans against England was the Chevalier d'Éon, whose decision to declare herself a woman helped to lead to the Franco-American alliance. These three people spin a fascinating web of political intrigue and international politics that stretches across oceans as they ricochet from Versailles to Georgian London to the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia. Each man has his own reasons for wanting to see America triumph over the British, and each contends daily with the certainty that no one is what they seem. The line between friends and enemies is blurred, spies lurk in every corner, and the only way to survive is to trust no one. An edge-of-your-seat story full of fascinating characters and lavish with period detail and sense of place, Unlikely Allies is Revolutionary history in all of its juicy, lurid glory.