page_title: Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes
section_title: Marriage and recall
hierarchical_section_title: Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes / Diplomatic service / Marriage and recall
context_page_description: Charles Gravier, Count of Vergennes was a French statesman and diplomat. He served as Foreign Minister from 1774 during the reign of Louis XVI, notably during the American War of Independence.
  Vergennes rose through the ranks of the diplomatic service during postings in Portugal and Germany before receiving the important post of Envoy to the Ottoman Empire in 1755. While there he oversaw complex negotiations that resulted from the Diplomatic Revolution before being recalled in 1768. After assisting a pro-French faction to take power in Sweden, he returned home and was promoted to foreign minister.
  Vergennes hoped that by giving French aid to the American rebels, he would be able to weaken Britain's dominance of the international stage in the wake of their victory in the Seven Years' War. This produced mixed results as in spite of securing American independence France was able to extract little material gain from the war, while the costs of fighting damaged French national finances in the run up to the Revolution. He went on to be a dominant figure in French politics during the 1780s.
context_section_description: In 1768, he was recalled, ostensibly because he married the widow Anne Duvivier (1730–1798), also known as de Viviers; they previously lived together while she was the ambassador's mistress. In addition, Gravier married her without seeking the King's consent.  She was the widow of Francesco Testa (ca. 1720-1754), a merchant member of one of the oldest and distinguished Latin families of Péra, originally from Genoa. She was widowed at the age of 24, before she met Charles Gravier, and they had two daughters together. The painter Antoine de Favray  who was living in Istanbul at this time painted Charles Gravier's wife, Annette Duvivier, Comtesse de Vergennes, in an oriental costume, sitting on a divan, shortly before they married.
  However, Charles Gravier was more probably recalled because the Duc de Choiseul thought him not competent to provoke a war between Imperial Russia and the Ottomans, which Choiseul hoped for. Choiseul wanted to weaken the power of Russia as he believed they were becoming too strong in the Baltic Sea. Choiseul regarded the best way of doing that as provoking a costly war between them and the Ottomans. Although he thought the strategy unwise, Vergennes continuously advocated war in Constantinople by trying to convince the Ottomans that war was the only way to check Russia's rising power.
  Vergennes's marriage had taken place without the King's consent, which was a requirement for French ambassadors. In France Vergennes encountered strong disapproval of his marriage and was aware that he returned home in disgrace. In spite of his doubts, Vergennes was successful in persuading the Ottomans to declare war against Russia, and in 1768 the Russo-Turkish War broke out. It eventually ended in a decisive victory for the Russians, who gained new territory, and further eroded Ottoman power. Despite his opposition to the policy, Vergennes still took credit in France for having fulfilled his orders to provoke a war. During this period Vergennes and Choiseul developed a mutual dislike of each other.
caption: Charles Gravier's wife, Annette Duvivier, comtesse de Vergennes, in oriental costume, by Antoine de Favray
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