Thomas Hine arrived in Charente in 1791, only sixteen years old, to learn the French language. It was the time of the French Revolution and he too did not escape imprisonment, like almost all Englishmen in France. He was suspected of being a British spy, but luckily he was released after just a few months. In these first years, he worked as a personal assistant for a cognac merchant. He fell in love with Françoise Elisabeth Delamain and married her in 1796. Soon after he became a partner in the company of his father-in-law, Ranson & Delamain.