Grande es la pasión que nasce del decaimiento público: preeminence disputes and social upward strategies of hispanic monarchy ambassadors in France, 1585-1593

Abstract

This study provides a brief analysis of concrete cases of disputes over
primacy and social ascension strategies among the ministers of Philip II in France,
between 1585 and 1593. The goal is to illuminate the role of dynamics of competition
among social actors of distinct classes over the consolidation of diplomacy in the Early
Modern Era. The exchange of letters among the agents and the king unveils the
backstage of those disputes, and reveals the strategies adopted to impose their
prerogatives over the others. We will analyze the ministers’ epistolary practice, by
considering their previous and posterior individual trajectories to 1593. The conflicting
and uncertain context of Spanish intervention in France’s wars of religion has created a
propitious space to the search of political notoriety. That was a perfect opportunity to
offer their services to the king, with the aim to conquer, ensure and increase the honor
and prestige to their family.