Editing American Revolution (section)

====France and Spain====
{{main|France in the American Revolutionary War|Spain and the American Revolutionary War}}
[[File:LouisXVI-France1.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Louis XVI]], King of France and Navarre]]
In early 1776, France set up a major program of aid to the Americans, and the Spanish secretly added funds. Each country spent one million "livres tournaises" to buy munitions. A [[dummy corporation]] run by [[Pierre Beaumarchais]] concealed their activities. American Patriots obtained some munitions from the Dutch Republic as well, through the French and Spanish ports in the [[West Indies]].<ref>Jonathan Dull, ''A Diplomatic History of the American Revolution'' (1985) pp. 57–65</ref> Heavy expenditures and a weak taxation system pushed France toward bankruptcy.<ref>David Patrick Geggus, "The effects of the American Revolution on France and its empire". in ''A Companion to the American Revolution'', ed. Jack P. Greene and J.R. Pole (Blackwell, 2000) pp: 523–530.{{ISBN|9780631210580}}</ref>

In 1777, [[Charles François Adrien le Paulmier]], Chevalier d'Annemours, acting as a [[Espionage|secret agent]] for France, made sure General [[George Washington]] was privy to his mission. He followed Congress around for the next two years, reporting what he observed back to France.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Founders Online: To George Washington from d'Annemours, 15 February 1789|url=http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-01-02-0224|access-date=May 26, 2021|website=founders.archives.gov}}</ref> The [[Treaty of Alliance (1778)|Treaty of Alliance]] between the French and the Americans followed in 1778, which led to more French money, [[matériel]] and troops being sent to the United States.

Spain did not officially recognize the United States, but it was a French ally and it separately declared war on Britain on June 21, 1779. [[Bernardo de Gálvez]], general of the Spanish forces in [[New Spain]], also served as governor of Louisiana. He led an expedition of colonial troops to capture Florida from the British and to keep open a vital conduit for supplies going to the Americans.<ref>Thompson, Buchanan Parker, ''Spain: Forgotten Ally of the American Revolution'' North Quincy, Mass.: Christopher Publishing House, 1976.</ref>