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Secretly approached by Louis XVI and Vergennes, Beaumarchais was given authorization to sell gunpowder and ammunition for close to a million pounds under the veil of the Portuguese company Rodrigue Hortalez et Compagnie. The aid given by France would ultimately contribute to George Washington's survival against the British onslaught. France accommodated American frigates that committed piracy against British merchant ships, provided economic aid, either as donations or loans, and also offered technical assistance, granting some of its military strategists "vacations", so they could assist American troops.
Quote:
The 1781 Battle of the Chesapeake caused a part of the British fleet to flee, making possible the entrapment of Charles Cornwallis' army at Yorktown, Virginia, where he hopelessly awaited the promised British reinforcements. Cornwallis was trapped between American and French forces on land and the French fleet on the sea. The French alliance was crucial in the decisive victory of the patriots at Yorktown on October 17, 1781, which could not have been achieved if not for the French Navy under Admiral François Joseph Paul de Grasse. Cornwallis formally surrendered on October 19, ending major hostilities in North America.
Think of that, next time you eat fries.