France Spain Enter the War H1053

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "France Spain Enter the War H1053"

Brent Fletcher
6 years ago
Views:

France Spain Enter the War H1053 Activity Introduction Hello there, my friend. Today we re gonna chat about France and Spain s roles in the American Revolution.

1 France Spain Enter the War H1053 Activity Introduction Hello there, my friend. Today we re gonna chat about France and Spain s roles in the American Revolution. When the American colonists went to war with Great Britain, they were, to say the least, in over their heads. Luckily for them, they knew it. The Continental Congress was smart enough to realize that in order to beat one of the world s superpowers, they would have to win some degree of international support for the revolution. Enter France and Spain. Video 1 Introduction I bet you ve got some questions now. Why would France and Spain WANT to help the colonists? What was in it for them? Why would they risk their money and military fighting the most powerful armed force in the world at that time? How did the colonists convince Spain and France to help? Didn t they have anything better to do with their time? And what s the deal with that squiggly line the Spanish sometimes put over the letter N? Ok, easy with the questions! Why don t you just watch this video that explains it all well, not about the squiggly line. Go ask your Spanish teacher about that one. Video 1 I want you to imagine picking a fight with the biggest, meanest person you have ever met and this person has all the training money can buy the best equipment in the world and has whipped everyone that s ever been foolish enough to stand up against him. In the spring of 1775, when the Revolutionary War began, the American colonists had no organized Army or Navy, few weapons and little experience in fighting a war. In fact, you could say the colonists picked a fight with the biggest, toughest dude on the block, Britain. It would be like me going up to the heavyweight champion and just slapping

2 him. The colonists had not even declared their independence from Britain, so they had no alliances with other European nations. They needed alliances in order to get the material for fighting the war. However, no help was given until the surrender of General Burgoyne s army to the colonial forces after the Battle of Saratoga. After this victory by the Continental Army, both France and Spain began to openly support the colonists. So how did we get the support of France and Spain? Well, the United States sent emissaries to France and in 1776, following the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the United States sent Benjamin Franklin to France to win its support. And he remained in France from 1776 to 1785, and initially, he persuaded the French to sale arms secretly to the United States. Louis the 16th, the French King, didn t want to start a war with England, so he made sure that France s involvement with the colonists was secret. The King relied on Pierre Beaumarchais to set up a fake Portuguese company to ship weapons, ammunition, clothes and provisions to the Americans, and then both the French and Spanish crowns secretly supported the company. Franklin convinced some prominent Frenchmen to enlist with the Americans. They included Pierre Charles L Enfant who was the man that planned the design of Washington, D.C., and the Marquis De Lafayette who became a close friend of George Washington. The U.S. also sent Silas Deane to France in 1776 and he helped Franklin secure the arms and munitions for the Americans, but he also raised money to finance the Battle of Ticonderoga. The final member of the U.S. delegation was Arthur Lee. In 1778, he was instrumental in negotiating a treaty with France that finally secured its full and open involvement in the war. But why would the French risk a war with Britain to help the underdog? Well, since the end of the French and Indian War in 1763, the French had wanted revenge against the English. The French felt that Treaty of Paris, which ended the war was unfair, and many of them wanted to regain New France, the French possessions in North America, and to help defeat the British.

3 Well, after the American victory at Saratoga in October of 1777, the French began to believe that the revolution may succeed; so on February 6th, 1778, Louis the 16th signed the Treaty of Friendship and official alliance with the 13 colonies. Now, initially, French involvement was confined to naval support, but then in 1780, 6,000 soldiers under Rochambeau were sent to America. And at the Battle of Chesapeake Bay, the French Navy defeated the British encircling British General Cornwallis at York Town and preventing reinforcements from reaching him. But we also sent emissaries to Spain. Well, Spain entered the war as a French ally on April 12th, When Spain signed the Treaty of R and S, before this time, the Spanish had provided weapons and supplies to the Port of New Orleans. And Spanish entry in to the war was also a result of the American victory at Saratoga. This treaty was a revival of an older alliance called the Boubon Family Compact, which had been signed when the Bourbon dynasty ruled both France and Spain. And also, Spain and France wanted to capture Gibraltar. It was a fortified peninsula that controls the narrow straits of Gibraltar between Europe and Africa and it was also central to the English control of the Mediterranean. So beginning in July of 1779, the British endured a three year siege with the Spanish and the French failed to take Gibraltar. The U.S. also sent two diplomats to Spain, Arthur Lee and John Jay. Now, Lee was unsuccessful in obtaining the Spanish support, so he was recalled to the United States and then later sent to France. John Jay was sent to Spain in September of 1779 and his objective was to obtain recognition of American independence, financial aid and commercial treaties. So despite their lack of an organized military, the Americans were able to achieve some very impressive victories against the British forces. Then after the American victory at Saratoga, the French and Spanish chose to support the American cause and the assistance provided by those countries was instrumental in the British defeat at York Town.

4 Video 1 Recap The United States sent Benjamin Franklin to France to win the support of the French government. Initially, France was reluctant to openly stand behind the Revolution. But after the rebels won at the Battle of Saratoga, France was finally willing to sign an official alliance with the U.S. France supplied the colonists with much-needed naval support, troops, ammunition, and money. Spain initially supported the revolution by supplying weapons to the U.S. Spain also officially entered the war in seventeen-seventy-nine, after the Battle of Saratoga, which indicated to the Spanish that the Americans could actually win the war. Spain was also hoping to regain Gibraltar from the British by going to war. But whatever their reasons, the Americans were just happy to have the support of France and Spain. Are you ready to move on? Reading Passage 1 Introduction When it came time to gather French support for the revolution, the Continental Congress turned to one man to do the job: Benjamin Franklin. Now, it might seem odd that they chose a devoted democrat of modest appearance to win over the opulent and monarchial French. I mean, seriously, the dude dressed like a backwoods man, and you really don t get much more modest than that. Anyway, despite what appeared to be a strange choice, it turned out that the Congress had picked the exact right man for the job. Let s take a look at this reading passage to learn more about Franklin and his time in France. Reading Passage 2 Introduction It could be said that the most prominent non-american of the American Revolution was the Marquis de Lafayette. Lafayette was intrigued by the revolution and was compelled to get involved. In doing so, Lafayette not only changed the course of his own life but, to some degree, he changed the course of the revolution. He would also embark on one of the most formative friendships of his life.

5 So here is your chance to read about the Marquis de Lafayette, his contribution to the revolution, and his close friendship with one of the United States most famous figures. Video 2 Introduction Now, that we re starting to get the low down on what was happening with the Revolutionary War in North America, you might be wondering: What else was going on in the world in the 1770s? I mean surely the Revolutionary War wasn t the only thing going on right? There had to be other stuff happening around the world right? Right. There was a lot more going on in the world during the 1770s then just the American Revolution. You name it: England Africa France India Prussia Spain, and China were all experiencing major changes and events. Here, let s take a look. Video 2 In the colonies of British North America, the 1770s were consumed by the American Revolution for much of the rest of the world. The decade was also a time of change and realignment. Colonial troubles, questions of royal succession and other political problems kept societies on edge. In England, George the 3rd was in his second decade of his 60 year reign, but he was not enjoying it much. The British Empire had expanded to include most of India, as well as the North American and West Indian colonies. But trade and politics in both areas were troubled. There were many problems with the way the British governor of India was running things. However, government ministers back in England tended to overlook these problems because of the huge profits that were being sent back to England. In America, efforts to make the colonists pay for a share of the huge war debt that Britain had accumulated during the French and Indian War were met with stiff resistance and eventually revolution. When the United States achieved its

6 independence in 1783, George the 3rd took the loss so personally, that he wrote a letter offering to step down as King. However, he never sent the letter and he stayed on the throne until In France, Louis the 15th died on May the 10th, 1774 after 59 years as Monarch. And his 19 year old grandson became Louis the 16th. The young man was unprepared to be King, especially of a nation that needed a strong hand to correct the abuses that had flourished for centuries. In addition, France had lost the bulk of its colonial possessions, Canada and parts of India to England as a result of the French and Indian War. This meant that they had less money coming in to use when tackling its problems. The chief problem was a multiple layer of taxation that the ordinary people were subjected to. In addition to sales taxes, there were other sorts of taxes that were owed, like to the national government, regional government, local government and then the Catholic Church. It wouldn t be long before the average French citizen was tired of all of this and look for a revolution to change France. Other countries in Europe were also undergoing difficult changes. In Spain, Carlos the 3rd, a relative of the French King, was also burdened with a system of government that didn t work, but he set out to modernize it, and his reign is generally marked as the period when the enlightenment finally reached Spain. The main problem, there was so much gold and silver arriving from the New World, that the economy at home stagnated. The wealthy spent their riches on imported goods, which drove down the demand for domestic goods. Plus, large numbers of people did not need to work at all because of the influx of gold. These same conditions prevailed in neighboring Portugal, which had grown rich and lazy on the diamonds and gold sent from Brazil. Prussia spent the early part of the 1770s recovering from the French and Indian War or the Seven Years War, as it is known in Europe. Much of the fighting in Europe had actually been on Prussian soil and the country was devastated.

7 Frederick the Great, nearing the end of his long reign, put the government on a tight budget, promoted religious toleration, kept his army strong and encouraged immigration, and by the end of the 1770s, Prussia, along with the rest of the German states, had recovered enough to enjoy its own enlightenment led by thinkers, such as Immanuel Kant. On the American mainland in 1769, the Spanish established a mission in Presidio at San Diego and built another at Monterey in And Monterey would serve as the capital of California from 1777 to Now, through the 1700s there were problems in Asia also. China s Imperial System flourished under the Ching Dynasty, but China was the center of the world economy at that time as Europeans and Americans sought Chinese goods. By the late 1700s, however, the strong Chinese state was experiencing internal strains, particularly an expanding population that strained food supplies and government control, and these strains led to rebellions and a weakening of the central government. Africa is difficult to quickly summarize because of its size and many differences. Around the coastlines, Europeans had set up trading posts for gold and slaves, but there were African kingdoms throughout the continents. Many of them older than their European counterparts. This even included Timbuktu, a real place that had been crucial and central to trade and religion in West Africa since the 1500 s. In the 1770s, the world was a busy place, and the American Revolution was not the only action. Changes were happening around the world and the United States was one of many. Video 2 Recap England, under George the Third, was not only dealing with chaos in its North American colonies, but it was also having to deal with a number of issues in India.

8 Meanwhile, France was still reeling from the colonial losses they d sustained in the Seven Years War. But even more troubling, internal problems were brewing that would soon set the stage for a French revolution. Spain and Portugal were continuing to get rich off the gold that they d extracted from their colonial possessions. BUT this influx of easy money from the colonies would stagnate the domestic economies in both countries. Problems were also on the rise in China, largely because of the instability brought on by overpopulation. And finally, over in Africa, European traders were continuing to make their mark along the coastlines, but in the interior areas Africa s age-old kingdoms still maintained control of the continent. So, now you know that there were a number of important international events that were going on in the late seventeen-hundreds. These international events would go on to shape the world of the coming nineteenth century. And just cuz I like you.here s a list of them. Let me know when you re ready to move on. Or, if you d like, we can go through that again.

4: TELESCOPING THE TIMES

The Americans (Survey) Chapter 4: TELESCOPING THE TIMES The War for Independence CHAPTER OVERVIEW The colonists clashes with the British government lead them to declare independence. With French aid, they