The Role of Spain, France and The Netherlands in the American Revolution
Although the name of the American Revolutionary War gives the impression that it was solely an American pursuit, this war actually involved a number of nations including those of France, Spain, and The Netherlands. In fact, these nations had a pivotal role in proceedings. The French assisted the Americans in succeeding in gaining their independence from the British; the Dutch, who traded heavily with the Americans, got involved when the British disliked that they were trading in arms; and the Spanish, who were, then, allies of France, supported the thirteen colonies during the war. In short, their roles contributed to the enforced independence of America from Britain, gaining their own benefits along the way.
France assisted the Americans in their struggle for independence through both financial aid and in the deliverance of additional man power, and, indeed, it is questionable as to whether America would have succeeded without this help (Perkins, 2005, p3). Until this time in history, the English had been notorious in their glorification of war and, under the former leadership of Pitt, The Seven Years’ War had been one of “the most glorious epochs in English history” and, by contrast, the American Revolution was quite the opposite (Perkins, 2005, p4). The Americans originally sought independence because of the appalling conditions that the British colonies were subjected to; the French, having been the subjects of a commanding, military campaign, from the British, some twenty years earlier, were keen to align themselves against their traditional enemy and gained the opportunity to show their strength when assisting the Americans. In successfully supporting the American campaign for independence, the French were able to re-assert their military prowess on the world stage; forming a significant alliance in the process which would strengthen their numbers, if needed against the British in the future.
The Spanish role in the war was one which enabled them to strengthen their relationship with their, then, ally: France. The two, neighbouring nations became associated with one another in 1761, during the French and Indian War, in a pact which became known as the Bourbon Family Pact (Axelrod, 2009, p301). And so, a large influence for the Spanish participation in the American Revolution was the loyalty to their allies; however, both nations accrued a significant number of financial losses, and both stood to regain a lot of those losses by taking part (Axelrod, 2009, p301). However, in 1779, the Spanish began a second-front attack against the British from the southern states of Florida and Alabama (Axelrod, 2009, p301), meaning that the Spanish contributed significantly to the impact of man power on the ground level. In participating so actively, when the war finally ended, Spain was able to recoup its losses from the previous war: with difficulties in revenue transit from South and Central America, after a number of attempts to solve the problem, the Spanish eventually formed their first national bank: the Banco San Carlos (Marston, 2002, p82). At the end of the war, this bank played a significant role in managing the repayments of debts and bonds from the colonies that Spain had supported, meaning that the Spanish were able to pay off their own debts with relative speed (Marston, 2002, p82). Therefore, the Spanish involvement with the American Revolution saw them benefit the Americans through financial aid, and saw the Spanish recover from a difficult financial time due to wars back home.
The Dutch involvement with the war saw a different tact: The Netherlands, tired of the British naval domination of European trade, ditched their alliance with the British in favour of seeking trade that did not involve the bureaucracy and monitoring that the British navy required – something which was not uncommon in Europe, at the time (Boyer et al, 2010, p160). This unrest reached its height when, in 1780, the British seized a Dutch convoy which was chartered for France, leading to the Dutch declaring war on the British (Boyer et al, 2010, p160). Arguably, therefore, the Dutch involvement with the American Revolution was, potentially, a spiteful one which allowed them to demonstrate their intolerance of the British on the world stage. Equally, Dutch merchants, and Dutch West Indian planters, had long been trading with the Americans (Boyer at al, 2010, p160), meaning that when the war broke out, the Dutch were able to align themselves with those whom had successfully traded with them, whilst also demonstrating their disregard for British rule, particularly since many have compared the Dutch desire to become a republic as being akin to that in America (Boyer et al, 2010, p160). The Dutch contributed to the success of the war through their continued trading of essential supplies with America.
In conclusion, the French, Spanish and Dutch all participated in the American Revolution as they supported the independence of America from British colonial rule, whilst also seeing it as an opportunity to actively demonstrate their disregard for the British. In particular, the Spanish and the Dutch both served to accrue great financial gain from the war through their support of the colonies, and the trade links, respectively. At the time, the British were making significant enemies across the world due to their over-bearing rule of trade links, and insignificant support given to their colonies. Each of the European nations, who participated, was able to support America whilst also gaining notoriety and strength in both the political and financial forums.
References
Axelrod, A. (2009). The Real History of the American Revolution: a new look at the past. New York: Sterling Publishing Co.
Boyer, P.S. et al. (2010). The Enduring Vision 1877. California: Cengage Learning.
Marston, D. (2002). The American Revolution 1774 – 1783. Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
Perkins, J.B. (2005). France in the American Revolution. Montana: Kessinger Publishing.
