Vergennes hoped that by giving French aid to the American revolutionaries he would be able to weaken British dominance of the international stage, in the wake of that kingdom's victory over France in the recent Seven Years' War.

[4] In 1743 Vergennes accompanied his uncle to the court of Charles VII who was the ruler of Bavaria and also held the title of Holy Roman Emperor.

after Charles VII's sudden death in 1745, they strove to help his successor Maximilian III but were unable to prevent him from losing his capital at Munich and making peace with the Austrians at the Treaty of Füssen.

In April 1752 Vergennes was appointed as envoy to George II of Great Britain in his separate role as Elector of Hanover.

The British eventually agreed to a settlement, but Austria refused to accept this, creating a rift between the two countries which endangered the Anglo-Austrian Alliance.

To counter a last attempt by Austria to get an agreement, Vergennes was sent to the Palatine in January 1753 where he secured confirmation that they would stick to France's strategy.

The Diplomatic Revolution of 1756 turned that scheme upside down as France became friendly to and then allied to Austria and Russia and an enemy of Prussia, which forced Vergennes to reverse his anti-Russian rhetoric.

[16] Vergennes spent the next few years trying to repair relations and persuade the Turks not to attack Austria or Russia, as they were being urged to do by Prussian envoys.

[18] The Treaty of Paris in 1763 brought an end to the war, but France was forced to cede significant territory to the British, easing some of the strains on Vergennes.

He was also alarmed by the weakening of French influence in Poland, which, in 1764, elected Stanislas Poniatowski, a Russian-backed candidate, as its king after it became apparent that France was powerless to prevent it.

[19] In 1768, he was recalled, ostensibly because he married the widow Anne Duvivier (1730–1798), also known as de Viviers;[20] they previously lived together while she was the ambassador's mistress.

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.

As early as 1765, Vergennes predicted that the loss of the French threat in North America would lead to the Americans "striking off their chains".

Long before France's open entry into the war, Vergennes approved of Pierre Beaumarchais's plan for secret French assistance.

The weakness of the British naval blockade off the American coast allowed large amounts of goods to reach the continent.

Although Vergennes had long planned for France to enter the war jointly with Spain, Charles III was more interested in mediating the dispute, as he did not want to encourage colonial revolts.

Vergennes pressed ahead with his alliance, in agreement with the American envoy Benjamin Franklin, which would almost certainly lead to war with Britain.

Despite American rebels' optimism related to France's entry into the war, the new forces did not quickly affect the balance of power in North America.

A fleet under Admiral d'Estaing sailed to assist the rebels but failed in attacks on British forces in Rhode Island and Savannah, placing significant strains on Franco-American relations.

Vergennes continued to send large amounts of money to keep the war effort afloat, but the British regained the initiative with their Southern Strategy.

By a series of negotiations, Vergennes sought to secure the armed neutrality of the Northern European states, which was eventually achieved by Catherine II of Russia.

He did not want his strategy of sending French and Spanish forces against Britain in the Americas to be deflected by troops and resources being diverted to Central Europe.

[28] After the success at Yorktown, the French fleet went to the West Indies as part of a plan to invade Britain's colony of Jamaica.

In April 1782 at the Battle of the Saintes, the French fleet suffered a major defeat and de Grasse was captured by the British.

[30] By 1782 Vergennes was growing increasingly frustrated by what he regarded as the inability of the United States to justify its use of the large sums of money which France had given them.

[32] In light of the generous terms that Britain had granted to the United States, although they refused to cede Canada, Vergennes remarked, "The English buy peace rather than make it.

"[33] During the negotiations leading up to the Treaty of Paris, Vergennes tried to balance the conflicting interests of France, Spain and the United States.

He was largely unsympathetic to the Dutch, believing that their disappointing effort in the war did not justify his championing their goals at the peace table.

[34] He played a major role in persuading Spain to accept a peace agreement that did not give them Gibraltar; without their concession, it was likely the war would have been prolonged at least one more year, which French national finances could not afford.

[43] Vergennes was played by Guillaume Gallienne in the film Marie Antoinette (2006), by Jean-Hugues Anglade in the 2008 HBO series John Adams, and by Thibault de Montalembert in the 2024 miniseries Franklin.