Franklin was chosen by the Continental Congress as one of its first ministers to France. In Paris he reached his peak of fame, becoming the focal point for a cultural Franklin-mania among the French intellectual elite. Franklin ultimately helped negotiate a cessation of hostilities and a peace treaty that officially ended the Revolutionary War. In this 1779 British political cartoon Franklin is shown laughing, holding his “Plan” that calls for draining of the “British Ocean” to facilitate an invasion by French troops. His other hand holds strings connected to the noses of the French King and members of the French Court.