James Cole Mountflorence

James Cole Mountflorence (born James Cole; died January 31, 1820) was an American businessman and Federalist diplomat in Paris during the French Revolution. He went to France in 1792 as an agent for the mercantile firm of William Blount, Thomas Blount, and John Gray Blount.^[1] In 1794, he became Chancellor to the American Consulate at Paris. Following Charles Cotesworth Pinckney's expulsion from France in 1796, Mountflorence was the primary contact in Paris between the French and American governments. The next year, he served as an intermediary during the XYZ Affair.^[2]

Early life

Mountflorence was the son of an English father and Irish mother who immigrated to France in the middle of the eighteenth century. Although there is no known familial connection, he apparently adopted the surname Mountflorence because John Cole of Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Ireland became Baron Mountflorence in 1760.^[3]

In 1778, Mountflorence departed France to join the

Mountflorence was a delegate to the

Diplomatic career

In Paris, Mountflorence quickly befriended influential Americans, such as American ambassador Gouverneur Morris. He also sent an intriguing proposal to the French minister of foreign affairs, Pierre Lebrun, asking to lead a covert mission against Spanish Louisiana. Lebrun rejected Mountflorence's request, but the proposal bears striking resemblance to the plan adopted several weeks later in which Lebrun chose Edmond-Charles Genêt to launch a similar mission.^[5]

After a brief trip to the United States in 1793, Mountflorence was arrested when he returned to France, which was in the midst of the Reign of Terror. Following Gouverneur Morris's exertions, Mountflorence was released and spent the duration of the Reign of Terror in Switzerland.^[6] Upon returning to Paris, he began working on privateering cases. In October, 1794, he reached an agreement with the American Consul in Paris, Fulwar Skipwith, to help handle consular duties as Chancellor to the American Consulate. Besides his consular duties, Mountflorence frequently served as an intermediary between the American and French governments and provided intelligence to ambassador James Monroe.^[7]

When newly appointed American ambassador,

Mountflorence continued to represent aggrieved American merchants whose ships and cargoes had been captured or detained by French privateers. He also sought to recover consular fees from Fulwar Skipwith, with whom he had signed agreements in 1794 and 1799. Eventually, Mountflorence brought suit against Skipwith. The lawsuit exacerbated tensions within the increasingly partisan diplomatic corps in Paris. One of Skipwith's allies later reported Mountflorence to the French authorities. Mountflorence was tried for fraud. He was acquitted but nonetheless imprisoned for over a year.

Mountflorence's later attempts to regain a position in the diplomatic corps were unsuccessful. After several illnesses, he died in Paris on January 31, 1820, and was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery.^[11]

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