FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
entered the
American Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , also sometimes known as the American War of Independence, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen united former British colonies in North America, and concluded in a global war between several European great powers...
(1775–1783) in 1778, and assisted in the victory of the Americans seeking independence from Britain (realized in the
1783 Treaty of ParisThe Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ratified by the Congress of the Confederation on January 14, 1784 and by the King of Great Britain on April 9, 1784 , formally ended the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United States of America, which had...
).
The example of the American Revolution was one of the many contributing factors to the
French RevolutionThe French Revolution was a period of political and social upheaval and radical change in the history of France, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based...
.
American origins of the conflict
After the end of the
Seven Years' WarThe Seven Years' War lasted between 1754 and 1763 and involved all of the major European powers of the period. The war pitted Prussia and Britain and a coalition of smaller German states against an alliance consisting of Austria, France, Russia, Sweden, and Saxony...
, the economic situation of Britain had driven her to exercise stricter and stricter controls on the commerce of her colonies: taxes were raised, commerce was exclusive, and the colonies were asked to contribute to the upkeep of the British troops stationed in the colonies through a special tax. The colonists proposed a law to the effect that "No population subject to the British Crown may be taxed without the agreement of its representative assembly". However, the tax was imposed, giving rise to increased tensions between the colonists and the colonial power. (see
No taxation without representation"No taxation without representation" began as a slogan in the period 1763–1776 that summarized a primary grievance of the British colonists in the Thirteen Colonies...
)
The best-known episode was the
Boston Tea PartyThe Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government. On December 16, 1773, after officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, a group of colonists boarded the ships and...
in 1773 in which the colonists refused to accept the British government-given monopoly of the failing British East India Company over
teaTea is the agricultural product of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camellia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods...
sold in America, throwing large quantities of tea overboard into
Boston HarborBoston Harbor is a natural harbor located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeast.-History:...
. Britain decided to close the port in reprisal, and opinion rapidly hardened in favor of the
BostonBoston is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the region and is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England"...
ians. A
congressThe First Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from twelve of the thirteen British North American colonies that met on September 5, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, early in the American Revolution...
of the colonists was organized, and armed militias mobilized and the colonial ruling apparatus replaced by local legislatures. On the Fourth of July 1776 the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
declared their union and independence from Britain.
Up against the British power, the young United States lacked arms and allies, and so turned naturally towards France. After the prodding of
Benjamin FranklinBenjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author and printer, satirist, political theorist, politician, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, soldier, and diplomat...
, France, which had no direct interest in the conflict, nevertheless engaged herself first in the covert support of the American war, then in open war from February 5 1778, which placed her almost alone against the
Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
.
Debate over aiding the colonies or declaring open war
Secretly approached by Louis XVI and Vergennes, Beaumarchais was given authorization to sell gun powder and ammunition for close to a million
poundsThe livre tournois was:#one of numerous currencies used in France in the Middle Ages; and#a unit of account used in France in the Middle Ages and the early modern period.- Circulating currency :...
under the veil of the Portuguese company
Rodrigue Hortalez et Compagnie. The aid given by France would ultimately contribute to
George WashingtonGeorge Washington was the commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the first President of the United States of America...
's survival against the British onslaught. France accommodated American frigates that committed piracy against British merchant ships, provided economic aid, either as donations or loans, and also offered technical assistance, granting some of its military strategists "vacations", so they could assist American troops.
DeaneSilas Deane , was a delegate to the American Continental Congress and later the United States' first foreign diplomat.-Biography:Deane was born in Groton, Connecticut, the son of a blacksmith...
, appointed by the Americans, and helped by French animosity towards Britain, obtained unofficial aid. However, the goal was the total involvement of France in the war. A new delegation composed of
FranklinBenjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author and printer, satirist, political theorist, politician, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, soldier, and diplomat...
, Deane, and Arthur Lee, was appointed to lobby for the involvement of European nations. They claimed that an alliance of the thirteen colonies, France, and Spain would assure a rapid defeat of the British, but Vergennes, despite his own desire in the matter, refused. Franklin might even have proposed to aid France in reclaiming
New FranceNew France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period extending from the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River, by Jacques Cartier in 1534, to the cession of New France to Spain and Britain in 1763...
. On the 23rd of July, 1777, Vergennes demanded that either total assistance or abandonment of the colonies be chosen.
Lastly, when the international climate at the end of 1777 was tense, Austria had requested the support of France in the
War of Bavarian SuccessionThe War of the Bavarian Succession was a war that occurred between 1778 and 1779 involving Austria, Saxony, Bavaria and Prussia. The conflict is often known as the Potato War because of the extended time the Prussian and Austrian troops spent on manoeuvres in Bohemia securing food-supplies and...
against Prussia. France had rejected, causing the relation with Austria to turn sour. In these conditions, asking Austria to give assistance to France in a war against the British was impossible. Attempts to rally Spain also failed: Spain had nothing to gain and the revolutionary spirit was even threatening the legitimacy of the Spanish Crown in its own Latin American colonies.
Public opinion in France was in favor of open war, but the governing body was reluctant due to the consequences and cost of such a war.
Following the
Declaration of IndependenceThe United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain were now independent states, and thus no longer a part of the British Empire...
of the
thirteen coloniesThe Thirteen Colonies were part of what became known as British America, a name that was used by Great Britain until the Treaty of Paris recognized the independence of the original thirteen United States of America in 1783...
, the American Revolution had been well received in France, both by the general population and the educated classes. The Revolution was perceived as the incarnation of the
Enlightenment SpiritThe Age of Enlightenment, or simply The Enlightenment, is a term used to describe a time in Western philosophy and cultural life, centered upon the eighteenth century, in which reason was advocated as the primary source and legitimacy for authority....
against the "English tyranny".
Benjamin FranklinBenjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author and printer, satirist, political theorist, politician, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, soldier, and diplomat...
, dispatched to France in December of 1776 to rally her support, and was welcomed with great enthusiasm, as numerous Frenchmen embarked for the Americas volunteer for the patriot war effort. Motivated by the prospect of glory in battle and/or animated by the sincere ideals of liberty and republicanism, volunteers included the likes of
Pierre Charles L'EnfantPierre Charles L'Enfant was a French-born American architect and civil engineer.-Early life:L'Enfant was born at the Anet, Eure et Loire, the third child and second son of Marie Charlotte L'Enfant and Pierre L'Enfant , a painter with a good reputation in the...
, and La Fayette, who enlisted in 1776.
The official reaction was more cautious. Louis XVI wanted to assist the colonies, but was constrained by the financial situation of his Kingdom and would only provide clandestine aid through Beaumarchais. The French foreign minister,
VergennesCharles Gravier, comte de Vergennes was a French statesman and diplomat. He served as Foreign Minister during the reign of Louis XVI, notably during the American War of Independence.-Diplomatic service:...
(in office from 1774 to 1781) was in favor of open participation by France due to the possibility of commercial and diplomatic gains. There was much prolonged consideration and analysis, as diplomats attempted to court allies (Spain through their Family Pact, and Austria), or at least ensure the neutrality of other powers (Austria, Holland, Prussia).
Still, many overseers of economy and the Navy in particular remained reluctant. The French Navy was described as still insufficient and unprepared for such a war, the economy would have been thrown into even further debt - as noted by
TurgotAnne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune, often referred to as Turgot , was a French economist and statesman...
and later
NeckerJacques Necker was a French statesman of Swiss birth and finance minister of Louis XVI, a post he held in the lead-up to the French Revolution in 1789.-Early life:Necker was born in Geneva, Switzerland...
. Diplomats were less enthusiastic as Vergennes and Louis XVI, underlining the unique and isolated position of France in Europe on the matter.
Entry into the war
After France entered the war on February 6, 1778, the British naval force - master of the seas - and French fleet confronted each other from the beginning. First these navies quarreled head-on, in the
English ChannelThe English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover...
and then in the entirety of the Atlantic Ocean, in a war of escorts. The ultimate outcome would be decided by the naval
Battle of the ChesapeakeThe Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War which took place near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay on September 5, 1781, between a British fleet led by Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas...
and the
Battle of YorktownThe Battle of Yorktown can refer to:*Siege of Yorktown , last major battle during the the American Revolutionary War, also known as the American War of Independence...
, America, and by the naval battle of Trincomalee.
The British had taken Philadelphia, but American victory at the
Battle of SaratogaThe Battles of Saratoga, sometimes referred to as The Battle of Saratoga conclusively decided the fate of British General John Burgoyne's army in the American Revolutionary War, and are generally regarded as a turning point in the war...
brought back hope to the Patriots and enthusiasm in France. The army of Burgoyne (Britain) was defeated and France became aware that the Thirteen Colonies could be victorious and thus decided to provide official aid to colonies. The Spanish ally was more skeptical. Vergennes and Louis XVI were considering the proposition of an American alliance through the American diplomats
Benjamin FranklinBenjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author and printer, satirist, political theorist, politician, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, soldier, and diplomat...
,
Silas DeaneSilas Deane , was a delegate to the American Continental Congress and later the United States' first foreign diplomat.-Biography:Deane was born in Groton, Connecticut, the son of a blacksmith...
, and
Arthur LeeArthur Lee may refer to:*Arthur Lee , U.S. envoy to France*Arthur Lee, 1st Viscount Lee of Fareham , British soldier and diplomat*Arthur Lee , American psychedelic-rock musician...
with increasing interest. The alliance between Britain and France, forged in 1763, plunged into a diplomatic crisis. The war was benefiting from popular support, La Fayette was gaining notoriety, and the avenging spirit was ready to express itself.
On the 6th of February, 1778, Vergennes and Louis XVI decided to sign with Benjamin Franklin a treaty of friendship and official alliance with the 13 colonies. France recognized the independent status of the colonies, both parties agreed that peace would not be signed separately, and the colonies engaged themselves in protecting French possessions in America. Battles were initiated in America and in the West Indies.
With the entry of France into the war, Britain attempted to keep the French navy in its waters. The naval
Battle of UshantThe Battle of Ushant took place on 27 July 1778, during the American War of Independence, fought between French and British fleets 100 miles west of Ushant, a French island at the mouth of the English Channel off the north-westernmost point of France.-Background:The British had 30 ships of the...
in the
ChannelThe English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover...
was indecisive: the two forces eventually withdrew (British admiral
KeppelAdmiral Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel PC , was an officer of the British Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War and the War of American Independence...
). The landing of 40,000 men in the nearby British Isles was considered, but abandoned because of logistical issues. On the continent, France was protected through its alliance with Austria, which, even if it did not take part in the American Revolutionary War, affirmed its diplomatic support of France.
Other nations in Europe refused to take part, but Vergennes was able to convince the Spanish to enter the war in 1779, and Britain declared war on the
Dutch RepublicThe Republic of the Seven United Netherlands was a European republic between 1581 and 1795, in about the same location as the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands,...
in 1780 over Dutch violations of neutrality. Britain was in a difficult situation, forced to fight the war on many more fronts.
The French intervention was initially maritime in nature and indecisive but was turned absolute when in 1780, 6,000 soldiers of
RochambeauJean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau was a French aristocrat, soldier, and a Marshal of France who participated in the American Revolutionary War...
were sent to America. In 1779, 6,000 French had already faced 3,000 British in the
Battle of SavannahThe Battle of Savannah can refer to two different battles that took place during the American Revolution:*The 1778 British Capture of Savannah*The 1779 American Siege of Savannah...
, but the French-American attack was too precipitous and badly prepared, which led to its eventual failure. The 1781
Battle of the ChesapeakeThe Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War which took place near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay on September 5, 1781, between a British fleet led by Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas...
caused a part of the British fleet to flee, making possible the entrapment of Charles Cornwallis' army at
Yorktown, VirginiaYorktown is a census-designated place in York County, Virginia, United States. The population was 203 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of York County, one of the 8 original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1634....
, where he hopelessly awaited the promised British reinforcements. Cornwallis was trapped between American and French forces on land and the French fleet on the sea. The French alliance was crucial in the decisive
victory of the patriots at YorktownThe Siege of Yorktown or Battle of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by General Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by General Lord Cornwallis...
on October 17, 1781, which could not have been achieved if not for the French Navy under Admiral
François Joseph Paul de GrasseFrançois-Joseph Paul, marquis de Grasse Tilly, comte de Grasse François-Joseph Paul, marquis de Grasse Tilly, comte de Grasse François-Joseph Paul, marquis de Grasse Tilly, comte de Grasse (13 September 1722, Bar-sur-Loup (Alpes-Maritimes) – 11 January 1788, Tilly (Yvelines) was a French admiral.-...
. Cornwallis formally surrendered on October 19, ending major hostilities in North America.
Other important naval battles between the French and the British were spaced out around the globe. The British and French confronted one another for the domination of the
AntillesThe Antilles refers to the islands forming the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea...
, which France lost to Britain after the 1782 Battle of the Saints. Combined Spanish and French forces were able to defeat the British and successfully capture
MinorcaMinorca or Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than the nearby island of Majorca....
in February of 1782. However, the
Great Siege of GibraltarThe Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the American War of Independence. This was the largest action fought during the war in terms of numbers particularly the Grand Assault of the 18 September 1782...
was a failed attempt by the French and Spanish to regain the
GibraltarGibraltar is a self-governing British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula and Europe at the entrance of the Mediterranean overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory covers and shares a land border with Spain to the north...
peninsula from the British.
In
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
, British troops gained control of French outposts in 1778 and 1779, sparking the
Kingdom of MysoreThe Kingdom of Mysore was a kingdom of southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. The kingdom, which was ruled by the Wodeyar family, initially served as a vassal state of the Vijayanagara Empire...
to begin the
Second Anglo-Mysore WarThe Second Anglo-Mysore War was a conflict in India between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Mysore. At the time, Mysore was a key French ally in India, and the Franco-British conflict raging on account of the American Revolutionary War helped spark Anglo-Mysorean hostilities in...
. Allied with the French, the Mysoreans for a time threatened British positions on the east coast, but that war ended
status quo ante bellumThe term status quo ante bellum comes from Latin meaning literally, the state in which things were before the war.The term was originally used in treaties to refer to the withdrawal of enemy troops and the restoration of prewar leadership. When used as such, it means that no side gains or loses...
in 1784. A French fleet commanded by the
Baillie de SuffrenAdmiral comte Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez, bailli de Suffren - French admiral; was the third son of the marquis de Saint Tropez, head of a family of nobles of Provence which claimed to have emigrated from Lucca in the 14th century...
fought a series of largely inconclusive battles with a British fleet under
Sir Edward HughesSir Edward Hughes RN was an admiral of the British Royal Navy.Hughes joined the Royal Navy in 1735, and four years later, was present at the capture of Portobelo, Panama. In 1740, he was promoted to lieutenant and served in the Cartagena expedition of 1741, and at the indecisive Battle of Toulon...
before word of a peace agreement arrived in 1783.
Because of decisive battles on American soil, the French were in a strong position during the peace negotiations in
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Peace and consequences
Starting with the
Battle of YorktownThe Siege of Yorktown or Battle of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by General Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by General Lord Cornwallis...
, Benjamin Franklin never informed France of the secret negotiations that took place directly between Britain and the United States. Britain relinquished her rule over the Thirteen Colonies and granted them all the land south of the
Great LakesThe Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth. They are sometimes referred to as the "Third...
and east of the
Mississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
. However, since France was not included in the American-British peace discussions, the alliance between France and the colonies was broken. Thus the influence of France and Spain in future negotiations was limited.
A limited victory was declared in September 1783, in the
Treaty of ParisThe Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ratified by the Congress of the Confederation on January 14, 1784 and by the King of Great Britain on April 9, 1784 , formally ended the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United States of America, which had...
. France gained (or gained back) territories in
AmericaThe Americas, or America, are lands in the Western hemisphere or New World, comprising the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. America may be ambiguous in English, as it is more commonly used to refer to the United States of America...
,
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
, and
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
. Losses in the
Treaty of Paris of 1763The Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763, was signed on February 10, 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement. It ended the Seven Years' War. The treaty marked the beginning of an extensive period of British dominance...
and in the
Treaty of UtrechtThe Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, comprises a series of individual peace treaties, rather than a single document, signed in the Dutch city of Utrecht in March and April 1713. The treaties among several European states, including France, Spain, Great Britain,...
(1713) were in part regained:
TobagoTobago is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean Sea, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada...
,
Saint LuciaSaint Lucia is an island nation in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. Its size is 620 km² with an...
, the
Senegal RiverThe Sénégal River is a 1790 km long river in West Africa, that forms the border between Senegal and Mauritania. It was called Bambotus by Pliny the Elder and Nias by Claudius Ptolemy...
area, as well as increased fishing rights in
Terra NovaTerra Nova or Terranova means "new land". It can refer to:In geography:* Newfoundland , the island portion of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada...
. Spain regained
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
and
MinorcaMinorca or Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than the nearby island of Majorca....
, but
GibraltarGibraltar is a self-governing British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula and Europe at the entrance of the Mediterranean overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory covers and shares a land border with Spain to the north...
remained in the hands of the British.
Because the French involvement in the war was distant and naval in nature, over a billion
livres tournoisThe livre tournois was:#one of numerous currencies used in France in the Middle Ages; and#a unit of account used in France in the Middle Ages and the early modern period.- Circulating currency :...
were spent by the French government to support the war effort. The finances of the French state were in disastrous shape and financial setbacks in particular were contributed by
Jacques NeckerJacques Necker was a French statesman of Swiss birth and finance minister of Louis XVI, a post he held in the lead-up to the French Revolution in 1789.-Early life:Necker was born in Geneva, Switzerland...
, who, rather than raise taxes, used loans to pay off debts. State secretary in Finances
Charles Alexandre de CalonneCharles Alexandre, vicomte de Calonne was a French statesman, best known for his involvement in the French Revolution.-Rise to prominence:...
attempted to fix the deficit problem by asking for the taxation of the property of nobles and clergy but was dismissed and exiled for his ideas. The French instability further weakened the reforms that were essential in the re-establishment of stable French finances. Trade also severely declined during the war, but was revived by 1783.
The war was especially important for the prestige and pride of France, who was reinstated in the role of European arbiter. However, France did not become the main commerce partner with the United States of America, despite particularly expensive military spending. French troops had to be transported over great distances, which cost about 1 billion livres tournois, and further added to France's debt of a little less than 3.315 billion.
Another result of French involvement was the newly acquired pride in the
enlightenmentThe Age of Enlightenment, or simply The Enlightenment, is a term used to describe a time in Western philosophy and cultural life, centered upon the eighteenth century, in which reason was advocated as the primary source and legitimacy for authority....
, finally set in motion with the Declaration of Independence in 1776, through the American victory in 1783, and accented by the
constitutionThe Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America and the federal government of the United States...
in 1787:
liberalLiberalism is the belief in the importance of individual freedom. This belief is widely accepted today throughout the world, and was recognized as an important value by many philosophers throughout history...
elites were satisfied. But there were also some major consequences: the European
conservativesConservatism is the diverse political and social philosophy that supports tradition and the status quo, or that calls for a return to the values and society of an earlier age, the status quo ante. However, the term has been used by politicians and political commentators with a variety of meanings...
had become nervous, and the nobility began to take measures in order to secure their positions. On May 22, 1781, the Decree of Ségur closed the military post offices of the upper rank to the common persons and reserved those ranks exclusively for the nobility. The blight of the bourgeoisies had begun.
Financial aspects
France's status as a great modern power was affirmed by the war, but it was detrimental to the country’s finances. Even though French territory was not affected, victory in a war against Britain with battles like the decisive
siege of YorktownThe Siege of Yorktown or Battle of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by General Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by General Lord Cornwallis...
in 1781 had a large financial cost (one billion
livre tournoisThe livre tournois was:#one of numerous currencies used in France in the Middle Ages; and#a unit of account used in France in the Middle Ages and the early modern period.- Circulating currency :...
) which severely degraded fragile finances and increased the deficit in France. Even worse, France’s hope to become the first commercial partner of the newly-established
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was not realized, and Britain immediately became the United States’ main trade partner. Pre-war trade patterns were largely kept between Britain and the US, with most American trade remaining within the British Empire.France, despite its financial difficulties, used the occasion of the war to weaken its arch-rival in European and world affairs,
BritainThe Kingdom of Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, was a sovereign state in northwest Europe, in existence from 1707 to 1801...
. Independence for the colonies would seriously damage the
British EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was...
and create a rising power, the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, that could be allied with France.
Some argue France primarily sought revenge against Britain for the loss of territory in America in the
1763 Treaty of ParisThe Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763, was signed on February 10, 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement. It ended the Seven Years' War. The treaty marked the beginning of an extensive period of British dominance...
. However, Dull, in 1975, argued that France intervened because of dispassionate calculation, not because of Anglophobia or a desire to avenge the loss of
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. French participation reflected the desperate French diplomatic position on the European continent. The Spanish navy was vital to the maintenance of the military initiative by the allies. France was desperate for peace but did not attempt to betray the United States. The French government was overwhelmed by debt maintenance, but war led to the financial crisis "which provided the immediate occasion for the release of those forces which shattered the French political and social order."
See also
- American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , also sometimes known as the American War of Independence, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen united former British colonies in North America, and concluded in a global war between several European great powers...
- Marquis de Lafayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette was a French aristocrat and military officer born in the province of Auvergne in south central France...
- American Revolution
The American Revolution is the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America at first rejected the governance of the Parliament of Great Britain, and later the British monarchy itself, to become the sovereign United States of...
- List of French units in the American Revolutionary War
English
- Samuel Flagg Bemis. The Diplomacy of the American Revolution (1935) online edition
- Brown, John L. "Revolution and the Muse: the American War of Independence in Contemporary French Poetry." William and Mary Quarterly 1984 41(4): 592-614. Issn: 0043-5597 Fulltext in : Jstor
- Frank W. Brecher. Securing American Independence: John Jay and the French Alliance. Praeger Publishers, 2003. Pp. xiv, 327 online
- Chartrand, René, and Back, Francis. The French Army in the American War of Independence Osprey; 1991.
- Corwin, Edward S. French Policy and the American Alliance of 1778 Archon Books; 1962.
- Dull, Jonathan R. A Diplomatic History of the American Revolution; Yale U. Press, 1985.
- Dull, Jonathan R. The French Navy and American Independence: A Study of Arms and Diplomacy 1774-1787 (1975)
- Louis Gottschalk; Lafayette Comes to America 1935 online
- Louis Gottschalk, Lafayette Joins the American Army (1937)
- Hoffman, Ronald and Albert, Peter J., ed. Peace and the Peacemakers: The Treaty of 1783. U. Press of Virginia, 1986. 263 pp.
- Hoffman, Ronald and Albert, Peter J., ed. Diplomacy and Revolution: The Franco-American Alliance of 1778. U. Press of Virginia, 1981. 200 pp.
- Hudson, Ruth Strong. The Minister from France: Conrad-Alexandre Gérard, 1729-1790. Lutz, 1994. 279 pp.
- James H. Hutson. John Adams and the Diplomacy of the American Revolution (1980)
- Kaplan, Lawrence S. "The Diplomacy of the American Revolution: the Perspective from France." Reviews in American History 1976 4(3): 385-390. Issn: 0048-7511 Fulltext in Jstor; review of Dull (1975)
- Kennett, Lee. The French Forces in America, 1780-1783.Greenwood, 1977. 188 pp.
- Kramer, Lloyd. Lafayette in Two Worlds: Public Cultures and Personal Identities in an Age of Revolutions. (1996). 355 pp.
- Lafayette, Marquis de. Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776-1790. Vol. 2: April 10, 1778-March 20, 1780. Cornell U. Press, 1979. 518 pp.
- James Breck Perkins; France in the American Revolution 1911 online
- Popofsky, Linda S. and Sheldon, Marianne B. "French and American Women in the Age of Democratic Revolution, 1770-1815: a Comparative Perspective." History of European Ideas1987 8(4-5): 597-609. Issn: 0191-6599
- Pritchard, James. "French Strategy and the American Revolution: a Reappraisal." Naval War College Review 1994 47(4): 83-108. Issn: 0028-1484
- Schaeper, Thomas J. France and America in the Revolutionary Era: The Life of Jacques-Donatien Leray de Chaumont, 1725-1803. Berghahn Books, 1995. 384 pp. He provided military supplies.
- Harlow Giles Unger; Lafayette Wiley, 2002 online
French
- Susan Mary Alsop, Les Américains à la Cour de Louis XVI, 1982. Traductio française : Jean-Claude Lattès (1983).
- Mourre, Dictionnaire encyclopédique d'histoire, Paris, Éditions Bordas, 1987, en 8 vol.
- Le petit Mourre : dictionnaire de l'histoire, Paris, Éditions Bordas, 1990.
- Henri Haeau, Complot pour l'Amérique 1775-1779, Paris, Éditions Robert Laffont, 1990, ISBN 2-221-05364-8
- J.-M. Bizière et J. Sole, Dictionnaire des Biographies, Paris, Éditions du Seuil, 1993.
- Olivier Chaline, La France au XVIIIe siècle (1715-1787), Paris, Éditions Belin, 1996.
- Joël Cornette, Absolutisme et Lumière 1652-1783, collection Carré Histoire, Paris, Éditions Hachette, 2000. ISBN 2-01-145422-0
- Egret, Jean. Necker, Ministre de Louis XVI, 1776-1790; Honoré Champion; Paris, 1975.
- André Zysberg, La Monarchie des Lumières (1775-1786), Paris, Éditions du Seuil, 2002.