who was sent to france at the beginning of the american revolution to ask for help
France in the American Revolutionary War France bitterly resented its loss on the Seven Years' War and sought revenge; it also wanted to keep Britain from becoming too powerful. The opportunity was now at hand. Following the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolution was well received in France, by both the general population and the aristocracy. The Revolution was perceived as the incarnation of the Enlightenment Spirit against the "English tyranny." Benjamin Franklin, dispatched to France in December 1776 to rally its support, was welcomed with great enthusiasm. The French had become interested in the American Revolution from the outset. They saw the revolution as an opportunity to strip Britain of their North American possessions in retaliation for France's loss of Canada a decade before. At first, French support was covert; French agents sent the Patriots military aid (predominantly gunpowder) through a company called Rodrigue Hortalez et Compagnie, beginning in the spring of 1776. Estimates place the percentage of French supplied arms to the Americans in the Saratoga campaign up to 90%.[4] By 1777, over five million livres of aid had been sent to the American rebels.