9. The arrival of Silas Deane in 1776
The American Congress created a Committee of Secret Correspondence in 1776, tasked with communications with Spain, France, and the Netherlands. The committee quickly made the decision to keep its activities private, recognizing that some members of the Congress had difficulties keeping their mouths shut. In the summer of 1776, the committee sent Silas Deane to be its representative in Paris. The rest of Congress was not informed of the nature of his mission. Upon arrival, Deane presented his credentials to Benjamin Franklin, the head of the official Congressional delegation to the French government. Through the usual political machinations, in which everyone maneuvered to cover their own interests, Deane was presented to Beaumarchais.
Within weeks of passage of the Declaration of Independence, Deane and Beaumarchais arrived at a deal which gave the American Congress one year of credit on goods purchased from Hortalez et Cie. Essentially the terms were 1 year the same as cash, and payment could be made through specie or American produce. The form of payment was left to the Americans, an unusual business arrangement in which the customer dictated the form of payment after taking delivery of the goods. The primary American product expected by the French was tobacco, which could be sold profitably throughout Europe.