<P> France's help is considered a vital and decisive contribution to the United States' victory against the British . As a cost of participation in the war, France accumulated over 1 billion livres in debt . </P> <P> After its defeat in the Seven Years' War in 1763, France lost its vast holdings in North America . Meanwhile, the American colonists and the British government began to fight over whether Parliament in London or the colonial assemblies had primary responsibility for taxation . As part of that conflict, the colonists organized the Boston Tea Party in response to a tax on tea . The British government responded by passing the Intolerable Acts, which included the closing of Boston Harbor and the revocation of Massachusetts's colonial charter . This conflict exacerbated tensions further . The ideological conflict escalated into open warfare in 1775, at which point the American patriots revolted against British rule . France, who had been rebuilding her Navy and other forces, saw this as an opportunity to seriously weaken her perennial enemy . </P> <P> France bitterly resented its loss in the Seven Years' War and sought revenge . It also wanted to strategically weaken Britain . Following the Declaration of Independence, the American Revolution was well received by both the general population and the aristocracy in France . The Revolution was perceived as the incarnation of the Enlightenment Spirit against the "English tyranny ." Benjamin Franklin traveled to France in December 1776 in order to rally the nation's support, and he was welcomed with great enthusiasm . At first, French support was covert: French agents sent the Patriots military aid (predominantly gunpowder) through a company called Rodrigue Hortalez et Compagnie, beginning in the spring of 1776 . Estimates place the percentage of French supplied arms to the Americans in the Saratoga campaign at up to 90% . By 1777, over five million livres of aid had been sent to the American rebels . </P> <P> Motivated by the prospect of glory in battle or animated by the sincere ideals of liberty and republicanism, volunteers like Pierre Charles L'Enfant joined the American army . The most famous was Lafayette, a charming young aristocrat who defied the king's order and enlisted in 1777 at age 20 . He became an aide to George Washington and a combat general . More importantly, he solidified a favorable American view of France . Kramer argues that Lafayette provided a legitimacy for the war and confidence that there was serious European support for independence . Lafayette's personal style was highly attractive; the young man learned quickly, adapted to the Patriot style, avoided politics, and became a fast friend of General Washington . Fifty years later, after a major career in French politics, he returned as a beloved hero of the war . </P>

What country supported the united states after the battle of saratoga