The victory of Saratoga encouraged many European countries to show their support one way or another. France recognized American Independence and entered the war, openly allying to the colonies. France had been helping the Patriots in many ways, but always secretly because they didn't believe that they would win. Of course France would welcome an opportunity to weaken their enemies' empire. Before the Saratoga Battle, they had been sending secret ships with ammunitions and weapons, and pratically this secret help was what kept the Patriots going. Some french volunteers even provided military expertise (training the soldiers), such as Marquis de Lafayette. After annnounceing publically their allience, they even sent troops to fight beside Patriots against British troops.
In 1779, British suffered another blow, when Spain entered the war. However they didn't enter as an ally to the Americans, but to France. They also wanted to weaken the British empire, but they feared that, if they encouraged the colonies' independence from Britain, their own colonies in America would want independence too. The Spanish governor of Louisiama, Bernardo de Gálvez, provided money and supplies to the Patriots, at the same time they prevented British ships from entering the Mississippi River.
The Netherlands also tried to help somehow and they tried to beat the East India Company. This disrupted England's economic stability.
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