To Benjamin Franklin from the Duke of Manchester, 7 May 1783
From the Duke of Manchester6
L: Library of Congress
Mercredi le 7 de Mai 1783
Le Duc de Manchester, Ambassadeur Extraordinaire et Plénipotentiaire de Sa Majesté Le Roi de la Grande Brétagne a l’honneur de faire part à Monsieur Francklin, qu’il a eu Mardi le 6 de ce Mois Ses premieres Audiences de Leurs Majestés Trés Chrétiennes,7 et de la Famille Royale.
6. George Montagu, fourth Duke of Manchester, a former member of the opposition to Lord North, was named ambassador to France on April 9 and was soon issued instructions to conclude final peace treaties with the European powers: DNB, under Montagu; Harlow, Second British Empire, p. 462. He replaced Fitzherbert, who was sent to St. Petersburg: Repertorium der diplomatischen Vertreter, III, 162, 171–2. In mid-May Fox ordered him to prevent Hartley from “going so very fast” in his negotiations with the Americans: Andrew Stockley, Britain and France at the Birth of America: the European Powers and the Peace Negotiations of 1782–1783 (Exeter, 2001), pp. 179, 190–9.
7. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.