<P> Other important battles between the French and the British were spaced out around the world, from the West Indies to India . France's navy at first dominated in the West Indies, capturing Dominica, Grenada, Saint Vincent, Montserrat, Tobago, and St. Kitts, but losing St. Lucia at the beginning of the war . A planned Franco - Spanish invasion of Jamaica was aborted after the decisive Battle of the Saintes in 1782 . At the end of the war . the French captured the Turks and Caicos Islands . In European waters, France and Spain joined forces with the entry of Spain into the war in 1779 . An attempted invasion of Britain failed due to a variety of factors . French and Spanish forces besieged Gibraltar from 1779 to 1783, but were unsuccessful in either storming the site, or preventing repeated British relief of its garrison . They were more successful in capturing Minorca in Europe and Demerara and Essequibo in South America in February 1782 . </P> <P> In India, British troops gained control of French outposts in 1778 and 1779, sparking the Kingdom of Mysore, a longtime French ally, to begin the Second Anglo - Mysore War . Allied with the French, the Mysoreans for a time threatened British positions on the east coast, but that war ended status quo ante bellum in 1784 . A French fleet commanded by the Bailli de Suffren fought a series of largely inconclusive battles with a British fleet under Sir Edward Hughes, and the only major military land action, the 1783 Siege of Cuddalore, was cut short by news that a preliminary peace had been signed . </P> <P> Because of decisive battles on American soil, the French were in a strong position during the peace negotiations in Paris . </P> <P> Starting with the Siege of Yorktown, Benjamin Franklin never informed France of the secret negotiations that took place directly between Britain and the United States . Britain acknowledged that the United States owned all the land south of the Great Lakes and east of the Mississippi River, except for Florida (which went to Spain). However, since France was not included in the American - British peace discussions, the alliance between France and the U.S. was weakened . Thus the influence of France and Spain in future negotiations was limited . </P>

French recognition of the united states in 1778 was important to american independence because