Changes

Paris stepped up munitions shipments and in February, 1778, signed a formal treaty with the U.S., becoming a fighting ally. For the entire war the French provided loans that totaled 35 million livres ($6,352,000),<ref>The U.S. paid France back the entire amount in 1792-95.</ref> and subsidies of 10.5 million livres, ($1,996,500), which were gifts. In 1779 Paris brought Spain into the new anti-British alliance; Spain was not directly an ally of the U.S. The Netherlands joined the military alliance, and helped fund the Americans.  

Paris stepped up munitions shipments and in February, 1778, signed a formal treaty with the U.S., becoming a fighting ally. For the entire war the French provided loans that totaled 35 million livres ($6,352,000),<ref>The U.S. paid France back the entire amount in 1792-95.</ref> and subsidies of 10.5 million livres, ($1,996,500), which were gifts. In 1779 Paris brought Spain into the new anti-British alliance; Spain was not directly an ally of the U.S. The Netherlands joined the military alliance, and helped fund the Americans.  

Paris acted in part out of revenge at the loss of Canada in the Seven Years War (1763), and even more for practical geopolitical and commercial goals. Independence for the American colonies meant that France's historic adversary would lose the richest, fastest growing, and most strategically located colonies in the world. Indeed, they would become French allies, permanently tilting the balance of power in the North Atlantic and the flow of trade. France intervened because of dispassionate calculation, not because of Anglophobia or a desire to avenge the loss of Canada. French participation reflected the desperate French diplomatic position on the European continent. The war was a tragic failure for France: American independence failed to weaken Britain. The Battle of Saratoga provided the publicity France needed to announce a policy that had already been decided.  France was desperate for peace in 1781-83 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.  

Paris acted in part out of revenge at the loss of Canada in the Seven Years War (1763), and even more for practical geopolitical and commercial goals. Independence for the American colonies meant that France's historic adversary would lose the richest, fastest growing, and most strategically located colonies in the world. Indeed, they would become French allies, permanently tilting the balance of power in the North Atlantic and the flow of trade. France intervened because of dispassionate calculation, not because of Anglophobia or a desire to avenge the loss of Canada. French participation reflected the desperate French diplomatic position on the European continent. The war was a tragic failure for France: American independence failed to weaken Britain. The Battle of Saratoga provided the publicity France needed to announce a policy that had already been decided.  France was desperate for peace in 1781-83 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.<ref> Dull (1976)</ref>