Treaty of Alliance — France Enters the War
France had been secretly funding the American cause since 1776 — the Comte de Vergennes, Louis XVI's foreign minister, arranged covert shipments of arms and supplies through the fictitious merchant house of Rodrigue Hortalez et Cie, run by the playwright Beaumarchais. The news of Saratoga, arriving in Paris in early December 1777, transformed the calculation: France could now be confident that the Americans could win, making an open alliance strategically worthwhile rather than a costly bet. On 6 February 1778, France and the United States signed two treaties — a Treaty of Amity and Commerce establishing trade relations, and a Treaty of Alliance committing France to the American cause and prohibiting either party from making peace without the other's consent. France formally recognised American independence, becoming the first European power to do so. Spain entered as a co-belligerent in June 1779, and the Netherlands in 1780.
- Year: 1778 CE
- Category: Diplomatic
