@histodons @historikerinnen @earlymodern

The role of #peacecongresses in these processes of exchange was tackled twice: @LenaOetzel focused on the congress of #Westphalia, while Michael Brauer from Salzburg University looked at the congress of Vienna (1815).

Lena argued that the peace congress didn’t function as a special hub for the exchange of goods between the Austrian and the Spanish Habsburgs; they had their permanent ambassadors at the courts that dealt with this kind of exchange. But nonetheless the peace congress was a place of exchange, especially of food. For the Imperial estates the congress offered an unusual opportunity to get into contact to the greater European powers. Among others there did this by offering gifts, especially food. The count of Oldenburg e.g. gave away huge amounts of meat and fish and other delicacies in order to enhance his interests. (5/)

@earlymodern @womenknowhistory @historikerinnen @histodons

She sees two reasons for this: the temporality of #earlymodern #peacecongresses (#negotiations could last between a few weeks & years) & the lack of a centre, which at courts was the prince, so that procedures, ceremonies etc had to be agreed upon anew for each congress. This is one of the reasons why especially the #WestphalianPeaceCongress took so long. There was no generally accepted precedence, thus one had first to negotiate how to negotiate. For the later congresses it was a bit easier, here #Westphalia was used as an example – however, not always as a positive one, but also, as a way how not to do it. (4/6)

However, Chigi felt sorry for himself during his stay in #Westphalia and did not hesitate to tell his employer about the hardships he had to endure. These expressions of suffering were not only testimonies of a #emdiplomat’s feelings but also served a communicative purpose. By reporting on and emphasising his own hardships, the #diplomat was able to present himself as a loyal servant of his master who gave everything to fulfil his mission. This in return could strengthen his relationship with his master, advance his career or lead to other favours. To make his reports more vivid, he even enclosed a slice of pumpernickel in one of his letters.

If you want to read more of Chigi's thoughts, you can find his diary from the #WestphalianPeaceCongress within the Acta Pacis Westphalica series:

https://apw.digitale-sammlungen.de/search/start.html?lang=en

(4/4)

#emdiplomacy #NewDiplomaticHistory #HistoricalPeaceStudies #histodons #adventCalendar #adventCalendar2024

@histodons @historikerinnen @earlymodern

@The_Icarian

>> Beware of any #Christian movement that acts as though the world is full of enemies to be destroyed rather than full of neighbors to be loved.

Nothing learned from the #Crusades or #Westphalia

Day two: a short ride to #Tecklenburg via the #Hermannsweg and back. #Tecklenburgerland #Westphalia #Westfalen

#Westphalia is not the only #peacecongress online. At Mächtekongresse you find documents and especially protocolls of the congresses of Aachen (1818), Troppau (1820), Laibach (1821) und Verona (1822) that took place in the aftermath of the congress of #Vienna.
#history #histodons #historikerinnen /4 

https://maechtekongresse.acdh.oeaw.ac.at/pages/index.html 

We start with apw digital. The online edition of the sources of the #peacecongress of #Westphalia (1643-1648), that contains letters by the Imperial, French and Swedish diplomats, protocolls, diaries, instructions and some other secrets. Here you find almost all printed volumes. It’s great! #histodons #historikerinnen #history /3

https://apw.digitale-sammlungen.de/ 

@historikerinnen @histodons

At the #peacecongress of #Westphalia most diplomats lamented the rain. The papal mediator, Fabio Chigi, did not only recorded in his diary, when it rained. He even wrote a poem on the weather in Münster, calling the city “home of the clouds”.
He was not the only diplomat who constantly complained about the bad weather in #Westphalia.
Maybe only those who could complain about the weather in Münster were real #diplomats at the #WestphalianPeaceCongress?

@histodons @historikerinnen
Bartholomeus van der Helst gives an impression on how the news of the concluded peace was celebrated.
Despite the Dutch-Spanish peace of 1648 is largely neglected in public memory of #Westphalia, it dominates its visual culture of remembrance.
Through the peace of Münster the United Provinces of the Netherlands gained independence from Spain + were recognised as a sovereign entity. This was accompanied by a re-positioning of the Dutch Republic within #emdiplomacy.