Vergennes, Charles Gravier, comte de

Vergennes, Charles Gravier, comte de

(shärl grävyā` kôNt də vĕrzhĕn`), 1717–87, French statesman. After serving as ambassador at Trier, Constantinople, and Stockholm (where in 1772 he participated in the coup of Gustavus III), he was made (1774) foreign minister by Louis XVI. He supported the American Revolution, at first secretly through Pierre de BeaumarchaisBeaumarchais, Pierre Augustin Caron de
, 1732–99, French dramatist. Originally a watchmaker, he rose to wealth and position among the nobility. His two successful comedies were Le Barbier de Séville (1775), the basis of an opera by Rossini, and
..... Click the link for more information. , then officially after signing, with Benjamin Franklin, the alliance of Feb. 6, 1778. Vergennes was the chief French representative at the peace negotiations between Great Britain and the United States, France, and Spain at the close of the American Revolution (see Paris, Treaty ofParis, Treaty of,
any of several important treaties, signed at or near Paris, France. The Treaty of 1763

The Treaty of Paris of Feb. 10, 1763, was signed by Great Britain, France, and Spain.
..... Click the link for more information. , 1783). He also assisted in negotiating the Treaty of Teschen (1779) between Austria and Prussia at the close of the War of the Bavarian Succession.

Bibliography

See J. J. Meng, The Comte de Vergennes (1932).