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Was France an ally of the American colonists in their war against Great Britain?

In spite of being a longtime rival of Great Britain, France remained officially neutral—that is, it took no sides—during the American Revolution (1775–83), the conflict in which the American colonies gained independence from Britain. Nevertheless, France supplied the colonists with 90 percent of the gunpowder they used for their weapons. An important figure in relations between France and America was the French general and political leader Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834), who was enthusiastic when he heard news of the revolution. Evading all obstacles put in his way by French neutrality, Lafayette left his country in 1777 to join the American Army commanded by General George Washington (1732–1799; later the first president of the United States). At the age of twenty, Lafayette was appointed a major general in the...

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