Charles G. Vergennes (431)

Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes (18 December 1719–13 February 1787) was a statesman, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1784. Born in Dijon, France, de Vergennes began working under the wing of his diplomat uncle before acquiring the office of Ambassador to the court at Trier, which is now in Germany. After success at this initial post, he continued representing France abroad, serving at an embassy to Hanover (1752) before becoming ambassador to Ottoman Turkey (1754). While in Istanbul, he defended the French position in the Seven Years War, and thereafter began sowing tension between Turkey and Russia on behalf of the French Crown. He served as ambassador to Sweden (1771) and assisted its King in a coup which robbed power from the nobility. Upon the ascension of King Louis XVI in France, Vergennes became Minister of Foreign Affairs (1774). It was by his machinations that France supported the United States during the Revolutionary War. He solidified the alliance with the Americans in 1778, and thereafter France declared war on Great Britain. After Britain’s surrender, Vergennes negotiated peace with the empire, and made no effort to regain French holdings in the United States. His support for the American Revolution likely had more to do with his general policy of aggression towards Great Britain than any revolutionary zeal, as he continued to serve the French Crown. He helped mediate the peace settlement after the War of Bavarian Succession (1779), became Chief of the Council of Finance (1781), and thwarted further Austrian schemes to obtain Bavaria and access to the Scheldt River (1784-1785). He died just before a gathering of the Assembly of Notables. (EB)