The Yorktown Battle

 George Washington and find out Lord Cornwallis' army was in Yorktown in the late summer of 1781. So the Patriots  raced southward from New York to encounter with the French fleet under Admiral Comte de Grasse in Chesapeake Bay. Washington arrived just in time to surprise the British, who were waiting for reinforcements that never came from either General Henry Clinton or the British fleet.

 The French fleet blocked the bay from Cornwallis while Washington blocked it in land. The British troops passed three weeks of without a way of escaping. Lord Cornwallis' finally surrendered  on October 19, 1781 and this ended the plan of British in the south. The loyalist and Patriot forces in the south had fought a series of savage fights that left both sides bloodied.Cornwallis surrender his army of  over 8,000 men. And send a white flag with a drummer boy to accept their defeat.The surrender occurred while  the British band played The World Turned Upside Down, a tune that underscored the strange turn of events.This battle effectively ended the Revolutionary War with Great Britain, and helped the patriots to begin as a new Country. 

The Paris Peace Treaty of 1783

Even though Cornwallis' army surrender at Yorktown in 1781, little battles between the Loyalists and Patriots occured during the next two years. Finally, in February of 1783 George III issued his Proclamation of Cessation of Hostilities, concluding in the Peace Treaty of 1783. Signed in Paris on September 3, 1783, the agreement also known as the Paris Peace Treaty finally ended the United States War for Independence.

Representing the United States were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and John Jay, signed the treaty. 

Some terms of the treaty said that, Britain recognized the independent nation of the United States of America. Also that they agreed to remove all of its troops from the new nation. The treaty also set new borders for the United States, including all land from the Great Lakes on the north to Florida on the south, and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River. The United States agreed to allow British troops still in America to leave and also agreed to pay all the money they owed to Britain. The United States also agreed not to persecute loyalists still in America and to allow the ones who left to return.

As a summary this are the nine articles that the treaty had: established U.S. boundaries, specified certain fishing rights, allowed creditors of each country to be paid by citizens of the other, restored the rights and property of Loyalists, opened up the Mississippi River to citizens of both nations and provided for evacuation of all British forces.

Financial Aspects of French in the War

France's status as a great modern power was affirmed by the war. Even though French territory was not affected, victory in a war against Britain with battles like the siege in Yorktown in 1781 had a large financial cost which severely degraded fragile finances and increased the deficit in France. Even worse, France’s hope to become the first commercial partner of United States was not realized, and Britain immediately became the United States’ main trade partner. Pre-war trade was kept between Britain and the US, with most American trade remaining within the British Empire. France, despite its financial difficulties, used the occasion of the war to weaken its rival in European and world affairs, Britan. Independence for the colonies would seriously damage the British and create a rising power, the United States, that could be allied with France. Some argue France primarily sought revenge against Britain for the loss of territory in America in the Treaty of Power. French participation reflected the desperate French diplomatic position on the European continent. The Spanish navy was vital to the maintenance of the military initiative by the allies. France was desperate for peace but did not attempt to betray the United States. The French government was overwhelmed by debt maintenance, but war led to the financial crisis. 

Bernardo de Galvez

Bernardo de Gálvez, was born on July 23, 1746, in Malaga, Spain and died on November 30, 1786, in Mexico City.  He was a Spanish military leader and the general of Spanish forces in New Spain who served as governor of Louisiana and Cuba and as viceroy of New Spain.

Gálvez helped the 13 Colonies in their war for independence and led the Spanish armies against Britain in the Revolutionary War, defeating the British at Pensacola and reconquering Florida for Spain. He spent the last two years of his life as viceroy, succeeding his father, who had been viceroy before him. Galveston, Texas and other places are named for him.

Gálvez was born in Macharaviaya, a village in the province of Malaga, Spain, on July 23, 1746. He studied military sciences at the Academia de Ávila and at the age of 16 he participated in the Spanish Invasion of Portu. During the invasion he was promoted to Lieutenant. He arrived in New Spain, then Mexico, in 1762. As a captain, he fought the Apaches, with his Opata Indian allies. In 1770, he was promoted to commandant of arms of Nueva Vizcaya y Sonora, northern provinces of New Spain, and New Mexico.

In 1772, he returned to Spain with his uncle, Jose de Galvez. Later, he was sent to Pau, France with the Cantabria regiment. There, he learned to speak French, which served him well when he became governor of Louisiana. He was transferred to Seville, in 1775, and then participated in the disastrous expedition of O'Reilly. After capturing the fortress that guarded the city, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He then became a professor at the military academy of Ávila.