Joseph-Mathias Gérard de Rayneval (24 February 1736,

Masevaux Masevaux (; ; gsw-FR, Màsmìnschter) is a former commune in the Haut-Rhin department in north-eastern France. Demographic evolution History On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune Masevaux-Niederbruck.Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (, ; Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; german: Oberelsass, ) is a department in the Grand Est region of France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine. Its name means ''Upper Rhine''. Haut-Rhin is the ...

– 31 December 1812,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

), was a French

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and

government minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

of the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

Career

Gérard de Rayneval served under the

Bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * A beer produced by Bras ...

Foreign Minister, Charles Gravier de Vergennes, as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Trade. In 1776, he produced a memo on

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

's strategic and diplomatic interests entitled ''Reflections on the Situation in America''. In 1782, he was sent on a secret mission to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to make peace feelers, before later undertaking official diplomatic visits (''qv.''

Eden Agreement The Eden Treaty was a treaty signed between Great Britain and France in 1786, named after the British negotiator William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland (1744–1814). It effectively ended, for a brief time, the economic war between France and Great Br ...

John Jay John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the first ...

, a Founding Father of the United States, upon learning of the trips suspected French duplicity, leading him to begin separate negotiations with the British. He wrote about his negotiations with Jay over the

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

If by the future treaty of peace, Spain preserves West Florida, she alone will be the sole proprietor of the course of the Mississippi from the thirty-first degree of latitude to the mouth of this river. Whatever may be the case with that part which is beyond this point to the north, the United States of America can have no pretentions to it, not being masters of either border to this river.

On 30 November, preliminary articles of peace were signed but it took a year, until 3 September 1783, for the Paris Peace Treaty to be signed.www.bnf.fr
/ref> Chevalier Gérard de Rayneval was appointed to the Royal Order of Charles III and served in

King Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was e ...

's Conseil d'Etat.

Family

He was the fourth son of Claude Gérard, of

Masmünster Masevaux (; ; gsw-FR, Màsmìnschter) is a former commune in the Haut-Rhin department in north-eastern France. Demographic evolution History On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune Masevaux-Niederbruck.Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

, by his wife Marie-Françoise Wetzel. In Paris on 8 August 1776, he married Sophie Gaucherel and had by her three children: * Adélaïde Gérard de Rayneval (1777-1860); * Maximilien Gérard de Rayneval (1778-1836), ''created'' a

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

; * Alexandrine-Sophie Gérard de Rayneval (1780-1823). His eldest brother was Conrad-Alexandre Gérard, comte de Munster.

References

External links

* * * * * * *

External links

www.diplomatie.gouv.fr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerard de Rayneval, Joseph Mathias 1736 births 1812 deaths People from Alsace 18th-century French diplomats French politicians French people of the American Revolution Ambassadors of France to Great Britain Diplomacy during the American Revolutionary War

Career

Family

See also

References

External links

External links