After years of spiralling tensions in Britain's American colonies the American Revolutionary War began in 1775. The revolutionary colonists faced a war against one of the world's major powers, one with an empire that spanned the globe. To help counter this, the Continental Congress created the ‘Secret Committee of Correspondence' to publicise the aims and actions of the rebels in Europe, before drafting the ‘Model Treaty' to guide negotiations of alliance with foreign powers. Once the Congress had declared independence in 1776, they sent a party including Benjamin Franklin to negotiate with Britain's rival: France.
Why France was Interested
France initially sent agents to observe the war, organised secret supplies, and began preparations for war against Britain in support of the rebels. France might seem an odd choice for the revolutionaries to deal with. The nation was ruled by an absolutist monarch who was not sympathetic to claims of ‘no taxation without representation', even if the plight of the colonists and their perceived fight against a domineering empire excited idealistic Frenchmen like the Marquis de Lafayette. France was also Catholic, and the colonies were Protestant.
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