1. The Illusion of Utopia
It was these same people who intervened decisively again in October 1789 when the Estates General once more seemed threatened by a royal aristocratic counter coup. ... The King's reputation relied on maintaining a strong position among European powers, but France's failing foreign policies continued to cause discontent among noble army officers and other members of the First and Second Estates whose loyalty the King needed to maintain.16 By 1789 the debt had reached a figure of around 5,000 million, as the war had "cost more than twice as much per year as the previous war17"...