DUMONT, John, a well-known publicist, was born in France in the seventeenth century. He followed the profession of arms, but not obtaining promotion so rapidly as he expected, he quitted the service, and travelled through different parts of Europe. He stopped in Holland with the intention of there publishing an account of his travels. But in the interval, at the request of his bookseller, he wrote and published several pamphlets, which were eagerly sought after, by reason of the unceremonious manner in which he treated the ministry of France. This freedom having
deprived him of all hope of employment in his own country, he now thought of forming a permanent establishment in that where he resided; and the knowledge which he had already acquired of the relations and interests of different nations having led him to entertain the idea of opening a course of lectures on public law, he lost no time in carrying it into effect. The project succeeded far beyond his expectations; and some useful compilations which he published about the same period made him favourably known in foreign countries. The emperor of Germany appointed him his historiographer, and some time afterwards conferred on him the title of Baron de Carlsroum. He died at Vienna in 1726, at an advanced age. Dumont wrote with facility, but his style is deficient in vigour and correctness; nevertheless, his works are esteemed as containing a great number of documents valuable for history. The following is a list of the works published by Dumont: 1. Nouveau Voyage au Lécant, Hague, 1694, reprinted under the title of Voyages en France, en Italie, en Allemagne, à Malte et en Turquie, Hague, 1699, 4 vols. 12mo; 2. Mémoires Politiques pour servir à la parfaite intelligence de l'Histoire de la Paix de Ryswick, Hague, 1699, 4 vols. 12mo; 3. Mémoires sur la Guerre présente (1700), Hague, 1703, 12mo, reprinted under the title of Recherches modestes des Causes de la présente Guerre, en ce qui concerne les Provinces Unies, 1713, 12mo; 4. Récueil de Traités d'alliance, de paix, et de commerce entre les Rois, Princes, et Etats, depuis la paix de Munster, Amsterdam, 1710, 2 vols. 12mo; 5. Soupirs de l'Europe à la vue du projet de paix contenu dans la harangue de la reine de la Grande-Bretagne, 1712, 12mo; 6. Corps Universel Diplomatique du Droit des Gens, contenant un Récueil des Traités de paix, d'alliance, etc. faits en Europe, depuis Charlemagne jusqu'à présent, Amsterdam, 1626, and following years, 8 vols. fol. continued after Dumont's death by J. Rousset; and 7. Batailles gagnées par le Prince Eugène de Savoie, Hague, 1723. To the Corps Universel Diplomatique du Droit des Gens ought to be subjoined, 1. L'Histoire des anciens Traités jusqu'à Charlemagne, by Barbeyrac, 1739, in 2 vols. folio; 2. Supplément au Corps Diplomatique, avec le cérémonial des Cours de l'Europe, collected by Dumont, and arranged by Rousset, 1739, in 3 vols. fol.; 3. Histoire des Traités de Paix du dix-septième Siècle, by St Priest, 1725, in 4 vols. folio. Dumont was also the author of Lettres Historiques contenant ce qui se passe de plus important en Europe, 12mo. This periodical, which was commenced in 1692, and two volumes of which appeared annually, Dumont conducted till 1710, from which time it was continued by Basnage, with the aid of several collaborators, until 1728. The earlier volumes are much esteemed. (A.)