WEEK 3
The revolutionaries in Boston in the 1760s and 1770s were first of all Englishmen. But they read French books. They knew the literature of the French Enlightenment well, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau, and others as well as the literature coming out of England. And as the crisis evolved, everyone in Boston and Philadelphia began to realize that if there was a break with England, the one most important nation that might help the colonies was the nation of France. The French Connection was complicated by the fact that France also was going through a pre-revolutionary phase. By the 1770s, Paris was on fire with revolutionary ideas and books that were widely read. But the overriding issue for the French government was any alliance that would help them fight their traditional enemies on the British island. Therefore, some alliance between the American colonies and the French nation was obvious to all. King Louis XVI was very much in favor of French help for the American colonies. If you would like to know something about the French Revolution here is a very useful short introduction.
RECOMMENDED READING
The French Revolution: A Very Short Introduction,
Oxford University Press; 1 edition (December 6, 2001),
ISBN 0192853961
