ABSTRACT
Franklin believed he had the best chance in getting help from France. The French had suffered an embarrassing defeat in the Seven Years’ War. France was forced to surrender Canada and all of its land along the Mississippi River basin. Benjamin Franklin was known for being an excellent writer and used his skills to write convincing letters to offi-cials in the French government. Disguised as a merchant from Antwerp, Julien Alexandre Achard de Bonvouloir arrived in Philadelphia and sought an introduction to the great Benjamin Franklin. Achard de Bonvouloir couldn’t tell why he needed to see Franklin, just that he needed to talk to him in private. Franklin agreed to meet with the young man, suspect-ing that he was an intelligence agent from France. Franklin was able to give the intelligence that was needed to convince Achard de Bonvouloir that it would be in France’s best interests to help the colonies in the war.
