<P> Great Britain's trade with the thirteen American colonies fell apart once the American Revolution started, causing British businessmen, especially from the tobacco industry, to suffer . Income from the sale of woolen and metal products dropped sharply and export markets dried up . British merchant sailors also felt the pinch: it is estimated that 3,386 British merchant ships were seized by enemy forces during the war . However, Royal Navy warships did make up these losses somewhat, due to their own privateering efforts on enemy shipping, particularly Spanish and French merchant ships . </P> <P> During the war, France shouldered a financial burden similar to that of Great Britain, as debt from the American Revolutionary War was piled upon already existing debts from the Seven Years' War . The French spent 1.3 billion livres on war costs . When the war ended, France had accumulated a debt of 3,315.1 million livres, a fortune at the time . </P> <P> The debt caused major economic and political problems for France, and, as the country struggled to pay its debts, eventually led to the Financial Crisis of 1786 and the French Revolution in 1789 . </P> <P> Spain's economic losses were not as great as those of the other belligerents in the American Revolutionary War . This was because Spain paid off her debts quickly and efficiently . However, Spain had nearly doubled her military spending during the war, from 454 million reales in 1778 to over 700 million reales in 1779 . Spain's revenue loss was similar to Britain's, since she lost a lot of income from her American colonies due the war . To make up for the shortfall, Spanish governors introduced higher tax rates in the South American colonies, with little success . Spain's next move was to issue royal bonds to her colonies, also with limited success . Finally, in 1782 the first national bank of Spain--the Banco San Carlo--was created to improve and centralize the economic situation . </P>

Who provided the most financial support to america during the revolutionary war