Foreign Loans

Gerald Pollio ()

Chapter Chapter 14 in The Rise and Fall of Britain’s North American Empire, 2022, pp 203-211 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract America’s difficulties financing the Revolutionary War were compounded by the Continental Congress’ inability to raise taxes. It was natural that Great Britain’s enemies, the French, in particular, would provide financial support to ensure the rebellion’s success. As there was uncertainty as to the ultimate outcome of the war foreign creditors hesitated until the battle of Saratoga, when Americans demonstrated an ability to effectively wage war against the British. France in due course provided the bulk of foreign war finance, including direct military support. Holland followed suit while Spain contributed a modest amount of financial support. Despite the successful raising of funds abroad, the amounts involved covered less than 10 per cent of the war’s total cost. One unintended consequence of French support for the American War for Independence was that it undermined French national finances, thus contributing to its own revolution.

Keywords: Credit; French support; Hamilton; Alexander (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-031-07484-4_14

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-07484-4_14

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