Everything about Comte De Vergennes totally explained
Charles Gravier,
comte de Vergennes (
December 20,
1717—
February 13,
1787) was a
French statesman and diplomat.
Biography
Born in
Dijon, France, he was introduced to the profession of diplomacy by his uncle,
Théodore Chevignard de Chavigny, under whom he obtained his first appointment, to
Portugal. His successful advocacy of French interests as envoy to the
Electorate of Trier, in 1750, and the following years led to his being sent to the
Ottoman Empire in 1755, first as
minister plenipotentiary, then as
ambassador (
see French Ambassador to Turkey). In 1768, he was recalled, ostensibly because he married the widow Anne Duvivier, (1730-1798), but really because the
Duc de Choiseul thought him not competent enough to provoke a war between
Imperial Russia and the Ottomans.
After Choiseul's dismissal, he was sent to
Sweden with instructions to help the pro-French party of
The Hats with advice and money. The coup by which
King Gustav III secured power (
August 19,
1772) was a major diplomatic triumph for France.
With the accession of
King Louis XVI, Vergennes became
foreign minister. His policy was guided by the conviction that the power of the states on the periphery of Europe, namely Great Britain and Russia, was increasing, and ought to be diminished.
His rivalry with the British, and his desire to avenge the disasters of the
Seven Years' War, led to his support of the
Thirteen Colonies in the
American War of Independence, a step which would help bring about the
French Revolution of 1789. Vergennes sought by a series of negotiations to secure the armed neutrality of the Northern European states, eventually carried out by
Catherine II of Russia; at the same time, Vergennes approved of the
Pierre Beaumarchais's support for secret French assistance, as arms and volunteers supplied to the Americans. In 1777, he informed the Thirteen Colonies' commissioners that France acknowledged the
United States, and was willing to form an offensive and defensive alliance with the new state. Vergennes also encouraged King Louis to sponsor expeditions to
Indochina, which laid the building blocks of the French conquest during the next century (
see French Indochina).
In domestic affairs, Vergennes remained a
conservative, carrying out intrigues to have
Jacques Necker removed - he regarded Necker as a dangerous innovator, a
republican, a foreigner and a
Protestant. In 1781, he became chief of the council of finance, and, in 1783, he supported the nomination of
Charles Alexandre de Calonne as
Controller-General. Vergennes died just before the meeting of the
Assembly of Notables which he's said to have suggested to Louis XVI.
Further Information
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