Early Modern Diplomatic History

Sowerby, Tracey A.

doi:10.1111/hic3.12329

Cited by 38 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 89 publications

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“…In contrast to the traditional focus of diplomatic history on international relations and foreign policy, the new diplomatic history zoomed in on the cultural aspects of diplomacy, including personal relations, translation, and inter‐cultural communication. It also highlighted the role of informal actors and intermediaries, such as translators, scribes, and secretaries, and the significance of non‐textual aspects of diplomatic relations, such as ceremonies, rituals, sound, gifts, and displays of hospitality and friendship (Amirell, 2022; Mori, 2019; Sowerby, 2016).…”

Section: New Histories Of International Law and Diplomacy In Southeas...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Tools of imperialism or sources of international law? Treaties and diplomatic relations in early modern and colonial Southeast Asia

Amirell

2023

History Compass

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The history of treaty‐making, diplomacy, and international law has traditionally been written from Eurocentric perspectives, but since the middle of the 20th century, Southeast Asia has attracted relatively much attention because of the region's importance for the 17th‐century Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius. More recently, however, the interest in Southeast Asia's role in the history of international law and diplomacy in the early modern period has become more oriented toward understanding the dynamics of international relations and cross‐cultural diplomacy in Southeast Asia itself, rather than focusing on the region's role in European legal and intellectual history. The prolific treaty‐making and other diplomatic activities of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) during the 17th and 18th centuries have been the object of several studies, highlighting how the company adopted Asian practices of statecraft and at times functioned as a traditional ruler, tributary or stranger‐king, rather than as an omnipotent colonial power. Moreover, several recent studies have expanded the study of diplomacy and treaty‐making in Southeast Asia to imperial powers other than the VOC and into the 19th century. With regard to the practice of treaty‐making during the colonial era, three main themes in the current state‐of‐the‐art are identified: 1) Southeast Asian and inter‐cultural perspectives on treaties and treaty‐making; 2) the question of mutual consent or coercion and violence in treaty‐making; and 3) discrepancies between Asian and European treaty texts and biases in printed and digitised compilations of treaties.

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Section: New Histories Of International Law and Diplomacy In Southeas...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Tools of imperialism or sources of international law? Treaties and diplomatic relations in early modern and colonial Southeast Asia

Amirell

2023

History Compass

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“…With premodern diplomatic history shifting its focus from the state to princely courts and dynasties, scholars have devoted far more attention to the importance of diplomatic ceremony and the diplomat's public appearance. 29 The seminal publications by German historian Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger on symbolic communication have led to an increase in studies on the role of rituals, gift-giving, and material culture in international relations. 30 A substantial and growing body of work analyses how diplomats used gifts, works of art, theatre, and opera to convey political messages.…”

Section: Historicising Cultural Diplomacymentioning

confidence: 99%

Addressing audiences abroad: cultural and public diplomacy in seventeenth-century Europe

Gelder

Lamal

2021

The Seventeenth Century

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This special issue highlights the interactions between diplomats and wider audiences in their host country during the seventeenth century. The dynamic and complex relationships between diplomats and foreign audiences in the early modern period have remained somewhat under the radar. While concepts such as "soft power", "cultural diplomacy", and "public diplomacy" have been developed by scholars of international relations in the twentieth century to describe and analyse twentieth-century realities, we argue that early modern historians can draw inspiration from these concepts to start answering the questions how, why, and when different European states and their representatives addressed foreign audiences abroad. Taking such an approach will expand our understanding of the strategies and tools diplomats had at their disposal to engage with different audiences. We conclude this approach has the potential to open new avenues of research into the history of symbolic communication, news, public opinion, as well as early modern international relations.

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“…Kevin Blachford https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4963-8334 Note 1. For example see the debates over 'New Diplomatic History', in Frigo (2011), also see Sowerby, (2016).…”

Section: Fundingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 1. For example see the debates over ‘New Diplomatic History’, in Frigo (2011), also see Sowerby, (2016). …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Revisiting the expansion thesis: international society and the role of the Dutch East India company as a merchant empire

Blachford

2020

European Journal of International Relations

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This paper breaks new ground by looking at the role played by merchant empires, such as the Dutch East India Company (VOC), in shaping European interactions with the non-Western world. It offers a critique of the English School’s state-centric narrative of the expansion of international society by looking to how the VOC and its expansion in Asia influenced developments within Europe. As a non-state actor, the VOC developed networks of trade and power, which were intertwined with the Dutch struggle against Iberian hegemony. As this paper shows, the development of international law, sovereign equality and European international society needs to be understood as being constituted through these colonial encounters. Looking to the VOC as a merchant empire presents a more nuanced approach to the expansion narrative that recognises that states, empires and early modern companies developed in a co-evolutionary manner. This critical approach calls for the recognition of international society as an ongoing process formed by the contestation of hybrid cultures.

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Early Modern Diplomatic History

Cited by 38 publications

References 89 publications

Tools of imperialism or sources of international law? Treaties and diplomatic relations in early modern and colonial Southeast Asia

Tools of imperialism or sources of international law? Treaties and diplomatic relations in early modern and colonial Southeast Asia

Addressing audiences abroad: cultural and public diplomacy in seventeenth-century Europe

Revisiting the expansion thesis: international society and the role of the Dutch East India company as a merchant empire

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