The Secret French War Michael Gregory The affairs of the French over the 18th and early 19th centuries varied widely. However, one theme of international policy remained: secure New France in America. In The French War Against America: How a Trusted Ally Betrayed Washington and the Founding Fathers, Harlow Giles Unger depicts a story of French influence in American politics to obtain their lost lands in America. During the United States’ infancy, many French influences began to affect American policies. France colonized the middle of the United states from Newfoundland to the Rocky Mountains to New Orleans. This vast land colony was lost after the peace treaty following the Seven Years War. Forced to cede their American lands to the English and Spanish, France never forgot their prized possession. Choiseul’s plan to recover the lands started with the unrest in America before the American Revolution, “In 1766, Choiseul ordered Edmé Genet to send a naval officer-turned-spy— Sieur Pontleroy— to America to evaluate colonist dissatisfaction and determine whether French arms and money might help incite rebellion.” …show more content…
Choiseul enlisted the help of spy comte de Broglie, “De Broglie saw the fire in the eyes of his young knights as an opportunity to further French interests— as well as his own— by sending French officers to take command of the American Continental Army and facilitate French recovery of New France.” Although American forces won the Revolutionary War, French involvement included a network of spies and constant meddling of American affairs. Choiseul was fired before his plan came to fruition, the ultimate goal of reclaiming the lands lived on through the next