France in the American Revolutionary War

From Freepedia

Image:USS Constitution vs Guerriere.jpgFrance, despite its financial difficulties, used the occasion of the American Revolutionary War (1776-1783) to seek revenge against England and the treaty of Paris of 1763.

France entered into the war in 1778, and assisted in the victory of the American insurgents (realized in the Treaty of Paris (1783)), also affirming its status as a great modern power and satisfying its taste for revenge, but harming the country’s finances. The country’s involvement in the American Revolution, however, celebrated the pride of its Republican and Democratic spirit (a theoretical spirit of the Enlightenment, and a reality in America).

Even without material destruction to French cities, victory in a war against England with battles like the decisive Battle of Yorktown (1781) had a large military cost (one billion livre tournois) 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 States was not realized, and England immediately became the USA’s official trade partner. Recognition of France's participation in the Revolution was mainly manifested in the United States' appreciation of French military heroes like the Comte de Rochambeau and the Marquis de Lafayette. France’s hope to regain its territories in the United States (Nouvelle-France) was also lost.

This weakening of the French state, and the rising visibility of viable alternatives to monarchy were both factors that helped influence the French Revolution.