Bit by bit the king came round, despite warnings from his finance minister that war would bankrupt France. American élan captured French imaginations and inspired young nobles, who clamored to help the insurgents against British barbarity; even Marie Antoinette was aflutter with enthusiasm for these New World paragons of courage and ingenuous virtue. At Vergennes’s direction, a French agent disguised as an Antwerp merchant traveled to Philadelphia and told Congress that France had no interest in reclaiming Canada and that American mariners would be welcome in French ports. “Everyone here is a
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