20. The United States did pay for French aid with tobacco and other products
Once the alliance with France was established, American tobacco was shipped to French ports in exchange for munitions and other aid. The American financier Robert Morris arranged the shipping through a complicated arrangement of loans and financial underwriting. Congress guaranteed the loans would be paid to the tobacco growers who sold their crops to American agents. The tobacco arrived in France and was sold by agents who paid the royal treasury. Hortalez et Cie, no longer needed, ceased to operate. Beaumarchais remained involved in the shipping of goods to America, but he was no longer part of the financial arrangements.
His investors sued for repayment, which his financial situation rendered impossible. For the rest of his life, Beaumarchais fought a losing battle with the American government for reimbursement of the huge fortune he spent supporting their cause. Frustrated by the Americans, he devoted his energies to the creation of an improved system of supplying drinking water to the city of Paris. It restored his fortunes financially. He also returned to writing plays. When Voltaire died in 1778, Beaumarchais republished many of his works, some of which had been banned by the government. They sold well, contributing to the restoration of his fortune, but earned the displeasure of the royal court.