Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732-1799) was a French agent who helped persuade Louis XVI and the French government to economically support the United States during the American Revolution and purchased arms for the cause himself. His attempts to be reimbursed for his support was delayed by financial complications that plagued the new government. He also wrote the comedies The Barber of Seville (1775) and The Marriage of Figaro (1776).
