Beaumez, Bon-Albert Briois de (1759-ca. 1809) to Henry Knox
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.07254 Author/Creator: Beaumez, Bon-Albert Briois de (1759-ca. 1809) Place Written: Burdwan, Bengal, India Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 6 April 1799 Pagination: 8 p. ; 23.2 x 18.6 cm. Order a Copy
Beaumez writes to Knox about how valuable letters from his friends in America are. He mentions the letters from Mrs. Knox and their daughter Lucy, as well as Thomas Flucker, Beaumez's stepson. Beaumez say, "though I am but an adoptive citizen of the U.S., I feel all proper sense of Duty and attachment towards the country that has afforded me so much hospitality and protection." Beaumez is disgusted with French treatment of America. He talks of his commercial interests and gains both in America and in India. Beaumez explains that "no foreigner, and even no English Subject has a right to fix his residence in Bengal," though they are protected by the government if they behave according to the judgment of the Governor General. "But in my case it has been the Government in England, that has taken the trouble to mark me out as one who ought not to remain in Bengal." He blames some French informer who is telling the English falsehoods. Beaumez takes comfort in the support of his friends in Bengal. He talks of his dangerous situation in traveling as a Frenchman under an American flag. The sugar crop, which Beaumez writes, is abundant in his part of India, has kept him busy there. He hopes to sell more of it once peace comes with France. He talks of his daughter Henrietta, visiting friends in Calcutta, and of the opportunities in India.
B. Beaumez, the husband of Sarah Lyons Flucker Beaumez, is most likely Bon-Albert Briois de Beaumez (also spelled "Beaumetz"), a travelling companion of Talleyrand and former President of the French National Constituent Assembly.
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