Louis XVI approved the 1778 alliance between France and the United States during the American Revolutionary War.
Louis XVI became king of France in 1774 and inherited a monarchy competing with Great Britain for influence. France had lost major territories and prestige to Britain during the Seven Years’ War, so helping the American rebels offered a chance to weaken a rival. French officials initially supplied secret aid while avoiding an open war.
The American victory at Saratoga in 1777 convinced French leaders that the rebellion had a realistic chance of success. Louis XVI then approved negotiations that produced the Treaty of Alliance and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, both signed on February 6, 1778. France subsequently entered the war against Britain.
French assistance included money, weapons, soldiers, and naval forces. The French fleet’s victory at the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781 helped isolate Cornwallis at Yorktown. Louis XVI was later overthrown during the French Revolution and executed in 1793, more than a decade after the American alliance.