My newest historical romance, To Tame the Wind, is set in 1782, the last year of the American
Revolution, however, it does not take place in America. Rather, it takes place
in Paris and London and the waters of the English Channel. As such, it brings to
the fore a part of the war not often focused on: the incredible contribution of
France to American’s victory.
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| Comte de Vergennes |
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| Benjamin Franklin |
All this contributed to the fast friendship that
formed between Vergennes and Franklin.
Living in Passy, just
outside of Paris, Franklin learned the language and displayed an uncanny knack
at politics and persuasion, which led scholar Leo Lemay to call Franklin
"the most essential and successful American diplomat of all time." He
served as America’s ambassador to France until 1783.
The alliance between
France and America, negotiated by Franklin, was signed on February 6, 1778 after the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga. It was
titled the Franco-American Treaty of
Amity and Commerce. By its terms, France openly supported America’s claim
of independence. The French had three goals in mind: to
help the Americans win their independence; to expel the British from the West
Indies where France held many profitable,
sugar-producing islands; and to compel the British to
concentrate the majority of their naval strength in the English Channel. Not
surprisingly, Britain soon declared war on France, in March of 1778.
Vergennes persuaded King Louis XVI
to give the Americans money, soldiers (most notably Lafayette, who became an
aide to Washington and a combat general), sailors, ships and supplies. At
first, France’s support was covert. French agents sent America military aid, predominantly
gunpowder, through the legitimate French company Rodrigue Hortalez et
Compagnie, beginning in 1776. But by 1777, over five million livres
of aid had been sent to the Americans.
During the American Revolutionary War
the French Navy played a decisive role in supporting the Americans. In 1781, the French,
fighting under Admiral François-Joseph de Grasse, managed to defeat the British fleet at the Battle of the
Chesapeake, thus ensuring that the Franco-American ground forces would win the
ongoing Battle of Yorktown. After the Americans won the Battle of Yorktown, the
House of Commons voted to end the war in the spring of 1782, a fact my English
privateer hero is quick to take note of.
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| French ships of the line in the battle of Chesapeake |
While there were
other American commissioners in Paris, there is no doubt that America would not
have won the Revolutionary War without France's financial and military aid and
that Franklin was almost entirely responsible for obtaining that aid. That all
of France admired and loved him is clear. (When
the news of his death reached Paris in 1790, the French admiration for the
American statesman was such that in the middle of the French Revolution, the
National Assembly decided to adjourn for the day.)
To Tame the Wind (Agents of the Crown Book 0)
Paris 1782… AN INNOCENT IS TAKEN. All Claire Donet knew was the world inside the convent walls in Saint-Denis. She had no idea her beloved papa was a pirate. But when he seized Simon Powell's schooner, the English privateer decided to take the one thing his enemy held most dear... her.
A BATTLE IS JOINED The waters between France and England roil with the clashes of Claire's father and her captor as the last year of the American Revolution rages on the sea, spies lurk in Paris and Claire’s passion for the English captain rises.
To Tame the Wind (Agents of the Crown Book 0)A BATTLE IS JOINED The waters between France and England roil with the clashes of Claire's father and her captor as the last year of the American Revolution rages on the sea, spies lurk in Paris and Claire’s passion for the English captain rises.
BUY TO TAME THE WIND:
Regan’s
Website: http://www.reganwalkerauthor.com/
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