May, 1776
The King of England recently said … No, not King George III! The current King of England, King Charles, reminded all of us about the intervention of the British here in the “colonies”.
“Dare I say that, if it wasn’t for us, you’d be speaking French!”
If that’s a little confusing, it’s because it had nothing to do with the American Revolution. So, what’s this about the French? And why was Charles giving us a history lesson?
He was referring to the Seven Years’ War from 1756 to 1763, and Britain’s role in defeating France. If they had not …
That’s why we would be speaking French today!
QUIZ TIME!
Any guess on how long the Seven Years’ War between France and Britain lasted? A hint: it wasn’t six years, and it wasn’t eight years.
Pourquoi?
Why would the French even want to help the colonies? Actually, they didn’t. Not without a good reason anyway. In May 1776 there really wasn’t a good reason. A skirmish here, a skirmish there! A few highly motivated political speeches! Yeah, that Patrick Henry fellow was a pretty good talker, but talking doesn’t win you independence. And it certainly doesn’t do well against the guns of the British Army and Navy.
So, what would it take for the French to get interested?
The French needed to know the colonies were serious about this entire war thing!
“We’ll sneak you a few guns! We’ll sneak you some ammunition! But, for the love of Pierre! Don’t ask us for actual, boots on the ground, military help.”
Benjamin Franklin had already tried some dubious … okay,
SHADY tricks with a French emissary earlier at the end of 1775 Secret Meeting. Those meetings provided results, but not what the colonies really needed—French soldiers! That would be a long time coming: 1789 – Yorktown, Virginia. And the outcome of that event—the end of the Revolutionary War—was due mostly to the French Navy.
HANG ON! Let me get this straight!
The British … defeated the French before the American Revolution. Then, the French helped defeat the British to end the American Revolution!
SO WHY DON’T WE SPEAK FRENCH?
Pourquoi?
Why don’t we speak French? Actually, that’s a fantastic question! It’s a whole other history lesson on what was going on in France at that time. But it also had to do with Benjamin Franklin and his continued shady dealings behind the scenes. The French had had enough of America. They weren’t even invited to the negotiations of who would get what in the new country. But then again, neither was Spain nor the Netherlands, both of which helped the colonists get their own flag. It was just the British and representatives of the former colonies.
Diplomats and the Truth!
Words that possibly shouldn’t be in the same sentence. “You give me this … I’ll give you that! (Actually, I don’t have that, but I might be able to get it! Hopefully!)
Things were tricky in Paris after the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, ending the American Revolution. Financially, the country was going downhill from helping the Americans. The King and his wife, Marie Antoniette were not known for their selflessness, charity, or magnanimity to the people of France, especially the lower class.
A train ride an hour west of Paris, and then a lengthy walk and a long wait to visit their home, Versailles, will give you an idea of what the “peasants” were angry about. Within a few years, France would have its own revolution.
Pourquoi?
Why don’t we speak French? The government of France had little-to-no interest in running the colonies. Financially, it just wasn’t worth it. So, following the surrender of the British at Yorktown, the French ships turned around, waved, and yelled, Bonne chance! Good luck! and sailed back to France.
If they had stayed, we might be speaking French today.
Could Benjamin Franklin Speak French?
Yes and no! Did he speak French before he became ambassador to France? The answer: YES! Did he speak it fluently? The answer: NO! Did he understand it? Probably better than he spoke it.
But right now, speaking French was the least of his worries. This was 2025! He didn’t know how he got here! All he knew was that this was Williamsburg, Virginia.
What he didn’t expect were cellphones! Cars! Buses! A British flag atop the Capitol building and everyone speaking with British and Scottish accents!
He would soon discover that he had a real problem. Not only was he in 2025. The citizens referred to this country as The United States of Britain. Two hundred-fifty years ago, the British had won the American Revolution!
