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FOREIGN DIPLOMACY AND ARMS PROCUREMENT DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 055. The outbreak of the Revolution in the British North American colonies was received with a wide variety of reactions by the various European powers. It was natural that some monarchs wouldfeel threatened bythe colonies' revolt against their king. Others opposed the Revolution because of trade agreements and alliances with Great Britain. The monarchs of the following countries were opposed to the American Revolution: Portugal, Denmark-Norway, Sweden, the German states (except Prussia), the Holy Roman Empire,and Tuscany. Portugal, Denmark, and Austria forbade their subjects to supply contraband to the Americans , but only Portugal closed its ports to American ships. At the time of the American Revolution, what is now Belgium was a possession of Austria and was part of the "Austrian Netherlands." Its governor was Charles of Lorraine, who had been appointed by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. The Austrian Netherlands did trade, at least indirectly, with the Americans. Empress Catherine of Russia and the king of Prussia, Frederick the Great, were neutral. Frederick the Great disliked England, but remained officially neutral due to his fear of repercussions at the British Court, which could be followed by reprisals. In spite of his official neutrality, there is some evidence that he helped both sides in the conflict. There is a letter in the U.S. Archives from the Prussian secretary of state, Baron von Schulenburg, to U.S. Commissioner Arthur Lee, dated June 10, 1777. In this letter, the Baron inquires about ships for the "merchandise" being shipped to America. No further referencesas to what this "merchandise" might have been have been located. Prussia informed the Americans that American privateers were not allowed to usethe harbor at Hamburg. In order to maintain neutrality, Prussiaalso stated that German troops hired byGreat Britain wouldnot be allowed to crossPrussian territory on their way to ports of embarkation. However, records of the German states' forces located at Morristown National Historic Park clearly indicate that at least one large group of German reinforcements was allowed to pass through Prussia with written permission from Berlin. Prussia also helped the cause of the British indirectly. Available information suggests that some of the muskets carried by the German states' soldiershired by Great Britain had been made under contract with the rulers of those states by Prussian gunmakers in Potsdam. FOREIGN DIPLOMACY AND ARMS PROCUREMENT The Stadhouder of the Netherlands, William VI, was a descendant of King George II of Great Britain and was pro-British. However, he was a hereditary prince, with only nominal powers. The governing body of the Netherlands was the States General, and the majority of the Dutch were sympathetic to the Americans. The Dutch sent war materials and money both directly and indirectly to aid the Americans. It should be noted that these may have been sent by Dutch private citizens and not by Dutch governmental authority. France and Spain had the most to gain by the American Revolution. At the very least, it represented a thorn in the side of their traditional enemy, Great Britain. In 1763, after having lost the Seven Years'War, France and Spain ceded most of their claims to new world territories to Great Britain. The American Revolution provided an opportunity to recover part, or all, of these territories. In the summer of 1775, shortly after the outbreak of hostilities in April at Lexington and Concord, Pierre-Augustine Caron de Beaumarchais, a young dramatist who had recently completed the lyrics to the Barber of Seville, began corresponding with Count Charles Gravier de Vergennes, the prime ministerof France, about the situation in America. This correspondence ultimately led to a September 1775 meeting of Beaumarchais , Vergennes, and Sartinne, the French minister of the navy, on the question of establishing an understanding with the American revolutionaries. Beaumarchais was later sent to London to meet with an American agent. It is not known who that agent was, but it may have been Arthur Lee. A French officer, Aachard de Bonvoulier, wasalso sent to America to observe the situation, to inform the Americans that France was friendly towards their efforts, and to imply that France would secretly supply the Americans with arms and military stores. On Monday, September 18, the Continental Congress resolved: That a [secret]committeebe appointed to contract and agreefor the importation and delivery of any quantitiesof gunpowder, not exceeding in the whole,of five hundred tons. That the said Committee be Empowered to procureforty brass field pieces, six pounders. That the...

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