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Described by the magazine American Heritage as the "Most Underrated French Hero of the American Revolution," Caron de Beaumarchais-the French watchmaker who rose to fame and fortune as a dramatist, polemist, and Enlightenment free-thinker-became the most famous arms dealer of the American Revolutionary War. Based on archival research in Europe and the U.S., this authoritative study tells the fascinating story of Beaumarchais's role as an owner and outfitter of ships and as an arms merchant. It chronicles his dealings with Louis XVI, Vergennes, Benjamin Franklin, and the American Continental Congress, and his family's struggle to receive payment for the weapons and materiel sent to the American colonists. Morton and Spinelli's work is a rich, detailed history of the American Revolution and of one of the eighteenth century's most engaging characters.