Question

Explain about the Anglo-French Rivalry.

Answer 1

Hint: The Anglo-French War was a military fight fought between France and Great Britain between the years 1778 to 1783. It was called the Bourbon War in Britain. Sometimes, the allies also fought on behalf of France and Britain.

Complete answer: By the end of the 18th century, France and Britain had become the major European powers in India. Both of them were equally determined to set up trade monopoly power in India. Therefore, an intense competition followed and they became arch-rivals in trade which eventually led to wars.
As a result, England was forced to divert resources which were used to fight wars in North America to theatres in Europe, India and West Indies. France and Britain fought with or without their respective allies for dominance in the English Channel, the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean.
The news of Burgoyne’s surrender had reached France and so King Louis XVI decided to enter into negotiations with Americans which resulted in a formal Franco-American alliance and the entry of French in the war-making the conflict a global stage one.
Similarly, many countries entered into partnerships with France and Britain which resulted in huge loss of resources, lives and destruction of many places. Therefore, the fighting resulted in a stalemate and ended upon both parties learning of the provisional peace treaties of 1783. France even got bankrupt six years later because of the war.

Note: The preliminary treaties were signed by both the parties in the year 1783. According to it, France and Britain returned to each other nearly all the territories they had taken from each other since 1778 except for Tobago which France had captured and kept.