Jean-Antoine de Mesmes, called d'Avaux (1640–1709), was a French diplomat in the service of Louis XIV.

[7] He appears as "comte d'Avaux" in many texts, among others his obituary in the Gazette de France,[1] Louis Moréri's historical dictionary,[8] and, besides, a modern academic study.

[13] His diplomatic career fell entirely into the reign of Louis XIV, who ruled France from the death of Cardinal Mazarin in 1661 to 1715.

He engaged in industrial espionage[14] and facilitated the purchase of Italian works of art for the royal collections.

Colbert de Croissy was to become his superior as secretary of state for foreign affairs after the conclusion of the treaties in 1679.

With the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678, France resumed diplomatic relations with the Dutch Republic, and Jean-Antoine de Mesmes was appointed ambassador at The Hague.

Jean-Antoine de Mesmes, being ambassador at The Hague, was asked to negotiate the treaty between France and the Dutch Republic.

[17] The treaty between Louis XIV and Charles II of Spain[18] was signed about 1½ months later on 15 August 1685 in Ratisbon (Regensburg), the seat of the German diet, by Louis de Verjus, comte de Crécy, the French ambassador to the diet.

In 1685, Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes, which had guaranteed freedom of religion to French Protestants.

[19] Jean-Antoine de Mesmes soon found out about William of Orange's plans to invade England and warned Louis XIV.

Jean-Antoine de Mesmes was forced to leave his post in The Hague in 1689, after a stay of more than ten years.

On 12/22 March 1689[e] he arrived with James II at Kinsale, on Ireland's southern coast,[23] sailing with the King on the flagship, the Saint Michel.

[26] Whereas James and Melfort wanted to protect the Irish Protestants to keep possible support in Scotland and England, Tyrconnell and Jean-Antoine de Mesmes mistrusted the Protestants and wanted to satisfy the demands of the Irish Catholics for land and rights.

Jean-Antoine de Mesmes was finally dismissed and replaced with the comte Lauzun, who was favoured by James and his queen, Mary of Modena.

At the very end of his mission, before embarking to return to France in April 1690, Jean-Antoine de Mesmes explained to his successor that "you are come to be a sacrifice for a poor, spirited and cowardly people whose soldiers will never fight and whose officiers will never obey orders, and therefore they would meet the same fate his Master's [i.e. Louis XIV's] army met with at the Siege of Candia, that is to be wasted and destroyed.

In 1692, the French ambassador to Sweden, Maximilien Alpin de Béthune, died suddenly while he was posted in Stockholm.

When he became ambassador in Sweden, France was fighting England, the Dutch Republic, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire in the Nine Years' War, which was exhausting its finances.

The Swedish diplomat Niels Baron of Lilliënrot [sv] mediated in the negotiations, and France was represented by Marshal Boufflers.

The purpose was to prevent a repetition of the alliances in the Franco-Dutch and the Scanian Wars in which Denmark was allied with the Dutch Republic against France and Sweden.

He demolished the old manor and began a new chateau,[35] consisting of a central mansion and two lateral pavilions around a courtyard.