It was on this day in 1776 that 70-year-old Benjamin Franklin set sail on a diplomatic mission to France . It was his fourth and final transatlantic trip. He was accompanied by two of his grandsons. When they arrived in Paris in early December, Franklin took up residence in a fancy hotel in Passy, whose proprietor insisted that Franklin didnt have to pay until the Americans won their independence. Franklin was famous in France — mostly because of his scientific work — and news of his arrival spread quickly. Everyone had a theory on why he was in France: for his health; to protest Americas break with England; to put his grandsons in a better school; to broker a commercial deal; or to retire to a Swiss chalet. Both the French and the British spied on him ceaselessly, intercepting his mail and enlisting his servants. They reported on everything, from his grocery bills to his laundry. During Franklins nine years in Paris, he made himself at home. He acquired hundreds of books, and set up a small printing press — he even invented a typeface called Le Franklin. His home was always open for entertaining, and the French loved him, despite the fact that he spoke French poorly, didnt understand elaborate French social code, and often ignored it even when he did understand it. But he was passionate about the American cause, and wildly exaggerated the strength and organization of the Continental Army. France secretly aided the cause of the revolution, sending money and supplies, but was reluctant to declare a formal alliance. In October of 1777, the British lost the Battle of Saratoga, and the French decided that the rebels might win after all and signed an alliance. In 1783, Franklin signed the Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the war. He returned home in 1785, when Thomas Jefferson was appointed to succeed him. Many of his friends thought that on the ship ride home he should write a memoir of his years in France, but his brain was back in science. Instead, he wrote a pamphlet called Cause and Cure of Smoky Chimneys.
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 09:31:13 +0000
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