Paul Revere (1735–1818) is a more significant figure in the history of the American Revolution than many writers give him credit for. A leading businessman in eighteenth-century Boston, he became involved in the Patriot cause soon after the French and Indian War (1754–63), part of a larger conflict known in Europe as the Seven Years’ War. Revere’s father Apollos was a Huguenot (French Protestant) immigrant to Massachusetts who learned silversmithing as an apprentice in the early eighteenth century. When Apollos died in 1754, his son inherited the family business. He soon became known throughout the town for his skill in metalworking and for his business acumen.