Great Britain came to have, in 1778, in North America, about 50,000 well-trained
soldiers, about 18,000 mercenaries Germans they hired for the race; they used half of his powerful fleet; inflicted a series of initial defeats of the settlers, and
faced an inexperienced army, but the war was not a "triumphant ride" for the British, as they predicted. The Americans were successful in shunning open
battles and attacking with skirmishes; that made them more dangerous than "if they had a large regular army." It was key, for the revolutionaries, the
development of the Pennsylvania model rifle, of great precision from more than 80 meters. It was a more effective weapon than the ancient and imprecise
muskets. The defeat of the British in Saratoga,
north of New York, in October 1777, was important. From there, France
arrived openly in the war: supported with money, arms, and armies of sea
and land. Spain, which supported the rebels with money, arms, and
ammunition, was still reluctant to direct intervention.
But a year later, they declared war on England, after a secret agreement with France. Later, Holland also joined the coalition formed by Spain and France.
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