<P> American women were integral to the success of the boycott of British goods, as the boycotted items were largely household items such as tea and cloth . Women had to return to knitting goods, and to spinning and weaving their own cloth--skills that had fallen into disuse . In 1769, the women of Boston produced 40,000 skeins of yarn, and 180 women in Middletown, Massachusetts wove 20,522 yards (18,765 m) of cloth . </P> <P> A crisis of political loyalties could disrupt the fabric of colonial America women's social worlds: whether a man did or did not renounce his allegiance to the King could dissolve ties of class, family, and friendship, isolating women from former connections . A woman's loyalty to her husband, once a private commitment, could become a political act, especially for women in America committed to men who remained loyal to the King . Legal divorce, usually rare, was granted to Patriot women whose husbands supported the King . </P> <P> In early 1776, France set up a major program of aid to the Americans, and the Spanish secretly added funds . Each country spent one million "livres tournaises" to buy munitions . A dummy corporation run by Pierre Beaumarchais concealed their activities . American rebels obtained some munitions through the Dutch Republic as well as French and Spanish ports in the West Indies . </P> <P> Spain did not officially recognize the U.S. but became an informal ally when it declared war on Britain on June 21, 1779 . Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, general of the Spanish forces in New Spain, also served as governor of Louisiana . He led an expedition of colonial troops to force the British out of Florida and keep open a vital conduit for supplies . </P>

Who were the key patriots and loyalists of the period and what contributions did they make