One central problem that resulted from the federal nature of the #Dutch republic was secrecy: How could one keep a secret with so many actors involved? This was almost a mission impossible, although one tried several measures such as an oath of secrecy to deal with the problem.
When dealing with Dutch #emdiplomacy you inevitably come across two other big issues: the Protestant character of Dutch #earlymodern#diplomacy and the importance of trade and commercial interests. For @helmers_h and @NinaLamal these are not contradictory interests. However, they argue that “commerce, geopolitics, and protestantism were perfectly reconcilable”. (4/5)
Finally, @helmer and @NinaLamal argue that it is important to analyse #Dutch#emdiplomacy not only in its European context, but in its global dimension. The East India Company (#VOC) and its growing importance in #Asia played an important role in the rise of the Dutch republic. Unfortunately, both dimesions – the European and the global one – are far too often dealt seperately with by modern research. A problem that is generally true for research on #earlymodern diplomacy.
This leads to an overarching problem of how to competently connect national, European and global perspectives on diplomacy without blurring the focus. A question to be discussed elsewhere. (5/5)
The most important group of #ambassadors to Madrid were the French ambassador, the Imperial ambassador to the Empire, the nuncio, and the Venetian ambassador.
Madrid did not have a diplomatic district. Diplomatic #envoys did enjoy immunity in the #embassy, with the king himself offering them lodgings for rent upon their arrival. Nevertheless, the ambassadors complained of the difficulties in gaining an audience with the ruler.
Following the union of the Portuguese and Spanish crowns in 1580, a global dimension of Spanish #diplomacy was developed which enhanced the reputation of the Spanish kings. (5/n)
According to Cario-Ivernizzi Spanish historiography continues to suffer from a lack of discourse surrounding its cultural history in general and with literary studies in particular, this is also reflected in new diplomatic #history.
However, historians specialised in Spanish #diplomacy continue to take steps forward in the field, not only with regard to the exchange of gifts but also gradually incorporating the analytical category of gender.
The career paths of Spanish & Portguese #emdiplomats have gained more attention in research only recently.
By placing more of a focus on integrating the activities of both official ambassadors and informal agents into diplomatic studies in the future, we will be able to obtain a more complete understanding of Spanish and European diplomacy in the #earlymodern era. (6/6)
He argues that #French#diplomacy continuously changed over the centuries, which can be seen as a sign of modernisation.
While #emdiplomacy was originally regarded as part of a more general service to the king, it slowly developed into a more specialised field of activity. From this the need to a much more profecient education of #emdiplomats arose. (3/6)
However, these changes were not introduced against, but within the existing system, often by those in charge. Therefore, elements of a more professionalised system co-existed with patronage relations. Waquet argues that we should speak of “a gradual internal transformation rather than of a permanent conflict between old and new”. (4/6)
#emdiplomacy was a multilingual affair. An #emdiplomat who could speak several languages had a clear advantage - not the least because he could thereby show equal respect to different parties, as this example by @dbellingradt shows. (1/2)
Studying Italian #emdiplomacy is so rich of case studies that we could have several separate articles – and we indeed have a special article on papal diplomacy. (10/11)
Moreover, Italian #emdiplomacy allows us to study so many different things in a nutshell: the development of diplomatic practices and the merging of different traditions, the connection between #emdiplomacy and state building, the role and agency of political entities of different status and how they tried to maintain their position within the power struggle of the great European powers. (11/11)
Papal diplomats – legates as well as nuncios – differed from other secular diplomats, as it was their task to represent the Apostolic See on a spiritual and a secular level.
But just like other diplomats papal envoys’ main tasks were representing, negotiating and of course reporting – the many volumes of the reports of the nuncios are an impressive testimony to this.
Koller thereby not only explains the development of papal diplomacy and its legal aspects, but also takes a closer look on the careers, the assignments and the daily life of the papal diplomats. (5/6)
Koller concludes that papal #emdiplomacy displayed a high degree of systematic order and efficiency.
For understanding #emdiplomacy in general papal diplomacy is key, as it was so advanced and prominent in #earlymodern international relations. (6/6)
After our special on female #emdiplomacy scholars for #WomensHistoryMonth and a little break we continue our introduction of the #handbook authors and their articles with the third section that focusses on the development of #earlymodern#diplomacy in different European countries.
She focusses on #emdiplomacy in East and Central Asia, especially on prisoners of war and slaves in Russia and Central Asia as diplomatic actors, as she explores in this recent article. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110777246-009
Together with Birgit Tremml-Werner she also edited a special issue in the Journal of the History of Ideas on “Translation in Action” combining intellectual history and #emdiplomay from a global point of view. https://doi.org/10.1353/jhi.2021.0022
This are only a few of her many publications. So if you’re interested in global #emdiplomacy you should not miss out on her work.
Last but not least, Lisa Hellman is head of the Nordic global #history network Nordglob which brings together scholars from the Nordic countries who are working on or at least interested in #GlobalHistory
That there’s still much to learn about the way #emdiplomats wanted to be present themselves, shows this rather unusual portrait of Sir John Luttrell painted by Hans Eworth. (6/7)
Natour thus argues for more interdisciplinary cooperation between the history of diplomacy, art history, the history of music, the history of ideas as well as theatre and literary studies.
If we want to understand what #emdiplomacy was and who #emdiplomats were, we need, according to Natour, include paintings and other visual media in our considerations. (7/7)
By choosing different genres written in different languages from the 16th and 17th centuries Bach provides a great insight in the ways #emdiplomacy was talked about and why. (6/6)
In #emdiplomacy representatives of republics were still the odd one out compared to monarchies causing all kinds of potential problems, as this examples shows.
As always with theory, we have to look at the relationship between theory and practice: Most of the authors of texts on #emdiplomacy had at least some diplomatic experiences themselves.
Moreover, these texts played an important role in the education of #emdiplomats, although it is usually difficult to pin down their influence on a certain individual diplomat. However, before the general establishment of diplomatic academies these treatises provided a certain guidance and generally promoted the need for adaquate training. (5/6)
We could not have found a better expert to write this article, as Fedele is research fellow at the university of Lille and focusses in his work on premodern #diplomacy and international law. His seminal study “Naissance de la diplomatie moderne” is available open access.
The #emdiplomacy#handbook, aka the Big Pink Book, finally found its way to its wonderful authors. So we asked them to sent us pictures of its new home.
Under #BigPinkBookOnTour we take you on a journey to all the places where #emdiplomacy research takes places.
If you spot the handbook in the wild, please post pictures, too! (1x)
#IR has a lot to offer, as @halvardl suggests in terms of theorisation and abstraction that could help #historians of #emdiplomacy when they tackle with the difficult questions of what #earlymodern#diplomacy actual is and who and what was a #diplomat. At the same time, he warns historians to be careful when adapting modern concepts like public #diplomacy to avoid anachronism. Moreover, Leira sees lots of potential in comparisons across time and space. This could help #emdiplomacy getting out of its eurocentric bubble. (4/5)
But it’s not only #earlymodern#NewDiplomaticHistory that can learn from an exchange with #IR: @halvardl is sure that this could give #InternationalRelations a better understanding of how and when ‘the international’ emerged and changed. There is much to learn for both sides and we are looking forward to explore at least some of the questions raised by Leira. (5/5)
Appearing in various places around the globe, treaties are not only concluded between polities who share a similar idea of sovereignty or territorial rights, which does not disqualify them as instruments of #diplomacy The issue about intercultural treaties leads to the question of whether these agreements had an equal or unequal character. Clearly, different forms of unequal treaties existed from the seventeenth century onwards – colonial treaties and the unequal imperialist treaties implemented with Asian empires such as China, Japan or the Ottomans. In Canada, for example, the British crown concluded dozens of treaties with the indigenous populations with regard to settlements and land rights. Indigenous agency within these processes has often been overlooked in the study of these treaty negotiations. (9/10)
Tremml-Werner demands more exchange between studies of European diplomatic history and that of other world regions and academic traditions to integrate native and indigenous sources and voices more balanced and to understand the rise of diplomacy as a result of global processes. (10/10)