 For the first two years of war, the colonists received secretive private and public loans from the French, who held a lingering resentment for the British after the Seven Years' War.After the British defeat at Saratoga, however, foreign support for the Continental Army increased, and in 1778 the colonies signed a treaty with France, officially bringing them into the war with England.By the end of the war, the colonies had received loans from several different European nations, including a significant contribution from France, Spain and the Netherlands.