In Book Six of Machiavelli's Florentine Histories, "From the Venetian League to the Destruction of the Turkish Army," he wrote: When the well-governed republics of antiquity won, they would often seize gold, silver, and treasures from their enemies to replenish the treasury, distribute rewards among the people, reduce taxes, hold athletic contests and grand celebrations, and let the whole populace rejoice. But in the age we describe, the first result of victory was an empty treasury; the second, the impoverishment of the people. Nor did the victor gain any assurance against future attacks by the enemy. This was entirely caused by the inherent disorder of warfare itself. For defeated armies merely lost their equipment; their men were neither harmed nor taken prisoner. Their counterattack against the victor was only delayed for a time, and as soon as their commanders furnished them with new weapons and horses, they attacked again. Furthermore, since ransoms and spoils had already been swallowed up by the army, the victorious ruler naturally could not use that money to recruit a new army, and had no choice but to raise the necessary funds for war from his subjects' pockets. This was the only consequence of victory the people experienced.
The American War had brought France no real benefit. Even though the government at the time had not been a republic, the result was the same: ransoms and spoils had already been swallowed up by the army, so the victorious ruler naturally could not use that money to recruit a new army and had no choice but to raise the necessary funds for war from his subjects' pockets. This was the only consequence of victory the people experienced.
The key was that even the army had received no ransoms or spoils, apart from Britain losing a colony.
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