One of the preferred routes that captains and navigators sailing from America to England learned to use was the Gulf Stream, a strong, warm current that flows north along the Atlantic coast and then east toward Europe. Initially charted by Benjamin Franklin in 1768, this discovery helped ships minimize travel time across the ocean, speeding up the transatlantic voyage for travelers, merchants, and goods. Franklin purchased this 1785 chart, a French adaptation of his original findings, when he served in Paris as a diplomat for the United States during the early years of the republic.