Protestant Cosmopolitanism and Diplomatic Culture: Brandenburg-Swedish Relations in the Seventeenth Century (Northern World)

In Protestant Cosmopolitanism and Diplomatic Culture, Daniel Riches investigates seventeenth-century Brandenburg-Swedish relations to present an image of early modern diplomacy driven by complex networks of individuals whose activities were informed by their educational backgrounds, intellectual and cultural interests, religious convictions, and personal connections. The Brandenburg-Swedish relationship was crafted not only by formally-credentialed diplomats, but also by an array of officers, bureaucrats, clergymen, merchants and scholars who conversed in the symbolic language of a common diplomatic culture and a worldview of Protestant cooperation across lines of political and denominational difference. The image of diplomacy that emerges is not one of bilateral contact between states, but rather zigging and zagging across multiple intersecting networks and ever-shifting constellations of religion, politics and culture. Protestant Cosmopolitanism and Diplomatic Culture: Brandenburg-Swedish Relations in the Seventeenth Century 4 Contents 6 Abbreviations 8 Acknowledgements 10 Introduction: Protestant Cosmopolitanism and Diplomatic Culture 12 The New Diplomatic History 15 Protestant Cosmopolitanism 19 Diplomatic Culture 22 The ‘both/and’ of Early Modernity 27 The Shadow of the Nineteenth Century and the Shape of Diplomatic History 28 National Historiographies and the History of Brandenburg-Swedish Diplomacy 30 The Plan of the Book 34 1 Foundations, 1575–1615 36 Political and Diplomatic Overview 37 Prussia Enters the Scene 39 Swedish-Polish Dynastic Union and a Brandenburg Marriage Plan 42 The Swedish Revolution of 1597–1600 44 The Factors 48 Poland and Prussia 48 Denmark 59 Geopolitical Shifts 61 Religion and “Protestant” Politics 65 Education and Culture 79 Interpersonal Networks and ‘Personal’ Diplomacy 84 Concluding Word 87 2 Convergence, 1615–1653 88 Brandenburg-Swedish Relations Enter a New Phase 90 Polish Concerns 90 Alliance Negotiations and the Prussian Invasion 97 The Transylvanian Marriage 102 Personal Diplomacy in the mid-1620s 109 War in Prussia 111 Friends, Enemies, and Personal Contacts 118 The Thirty Years’ War and the Pomeranian Issue 131 Diplomats and Diplomatic Culture 141 The Traffic in Personnel 141 Desired Characteristics 142 Samuel von Winterfeld and Stellan von Mörner, 1626 144 Kurt Bertram von Pfuel and Gustav Adolf, 1631 146 Pomerania as a Threat to Friendship 148 3 Marriage Alliances: Diplomatic Culture in Action 152 Gustav Adolf and Maria Eleonora 152 Christina and Friedrich Wilhelm 158 Religion and the Marriage Plans 163 Diplomatic Culture in Action 167 Concluding Word 189 4 Connection, 1653–1691 192 Warfare, Sovereignty, and Factions 192 The Thaw after the Pomeranian Settlement 192 Swedish-Polish Warfare and Hohenzollern Sovereignty in Prussia 199 Distrust and Alliance 205 The Prominence of France and Swedish Factionalism 210 Brandenburg and Sweden at War 216 Personnel Exchange and Personal Ties 220 Cultural Connection 225 The Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft 227 Bengt Skytte’s Universal University 229 Pan-Protestantism Before and After Westphalia 232 Beginnings of a Drifting Apart 234 5 The Rise of Confessional Tension: Diplomatic Culture Under Duress 236 Falaiseau in Sweden 239 Von Dohna in Sweden 263 Confessional Tension as a Marker of Fundamental Change 270 Epilogue 280 Concluding Remarks: Squeezed From Both Ends 295 Bibliography 302 Archival Collections 302 Printed Primary Sources and Document Collections 303 Secondary Sources 309 Index 334 Abbreviations ... vii Acknowledgements ... ix Introduction Protestant Cosmopolitanism and Diplomatic Culture ... 1 1. Foundations, 1575–1615 ... 25 2. Convergence, 1615–1653 ... 77 3. Marriage Alliances: Diplomatic Culture in Action ... 141 4. Connection, 1653–1691 ... 181 5. The Rise of Confessional Tension: Diplomatic Culture Under Duress ... 225 Epilogue ... 269 Bibliography ... 291 In Protestant Cosmopolitanism and Diplomatic Culture , Daniel Riches investigates seventeenth-century Brandenburg-Swedish relations to present an image of early modern diplomacy driven by interpersonal networks grounded in their members educational backgrounds, intellectual and cultural interests, religious convictions, and personal connections.