Friends and Enemies in the Global History of Diplomacy

Abstract

This chapter juxtaposes three episodes in the history of early modern diplomacy: Sir Henry Wotton’s tenure as England’s ambassador to Venice; the English state’s efforts to extradite a group of Catholic exiles in connection to the Gunpowder Plot; and Sir Francis Drake’s alliance with the nation of Cimarrons in Panama. The discussion of Wotton focuses on the unique position of the embassy as a space of residence, domestic business, and social and pedagogical conduct. In contrast to Wotton’s more autonomous model of state service, the English response to the Gunpowder Plot reflects the elision of any legal or conceptual place for the exile, extraterritorial subject, or nonstate agent. The final section examines the modes of sociability and definitions of enmity applied to colonial and extra-European regions, looking at the lines of amity, the premise that extraterritorial violence “beyond the line” did not disrupt peaceful relations among European states.