The XYZ Affair is a diplomatic scandal that lasted from March of 1797 to 1800. Three French agents, publicly referred to as X, Y, and Z, but later revealed as Jean Conrad Hottinguer, Pierre Bellamy and Lucien Hauteval, demanded major concessions from the United States as a condition for continuing bilateral peace negotiations. The concessions demanded by the French included 50,000 pounds sterling, a $12 million loan from the United States, a $250,000 personal bribe to French foreign minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, and a formal apology for comments made by U.S. President John Adams. The demand came during a meeting in Paris between the French agents and a three member American commission consisting of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry. Several weeks prior to the meeting with X, Y, and Z, the American commission had met with French foreign minister Talleyrand to discuss French retaliation to the Jay Treaty, which they perceived as evidence of an Anglo-American alliance. The French seized nearly 300 American ships bound for British ports in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Caribbean Seas.
The 3 member AMERICAN COMMISION consisting of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry worked for the FEDERALIST FACTION.
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