From Versailles to Yorktown: France’s decisive hand in American independence

France secretly aided the American cause from 1776, formalizing its alliance in 1778 and sending money, weapons and diplomats. Lafayette’s arrival revitalized the rebellion, Rochambeau’s troops joined Washington, and de Grasse’s naval blockades at Yorktown sealed the British fate in 1781. The 1783 Treaty of Paris recognized American independence and reshaped diplomacy, but the costly war debt hastened financial troubles for Louis XVI and helped spark ideas that would fuel the French Revolution.