How representative is the case of Al-Ḥāǧǧ Yūsuf?

Bono #diplomats had different backgrounds. Some were relatives to the sultans, such as the already mentioned Idrīs b. Muḥammad or Cidi Ismael who went to Tripoli in 1655. Other #ambassadors were slaves or eunuchs, and then there were traders. All these people had somehow close personal bonds to the ruler.

The case of al-Ḥāǧǧ Yūsuf reveals another common characteristic of many Sahelian ambassadors in the 16th century: their shared experience of the ḥaǧǧ, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. (5/5)

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Unlike for the European context, there are in fact no biographies or autobiographies from sub-Saharan #ambassadors in the #earlymodern period.

This is due to the scarcity of sources. However, in his study, Dewiere traced the background and activities of al-Ḥāǧǧ Yūsuf, a key actor of the negotiations that occurred between 1577 and 1583, and discussed him as the epitome of a Sahelian #ambassador: (2/5)

Rémi Dewière: Al-Ḥāǧǧ Yūsuf, Epitome of a Sahelian Ambassador? (1574–1583); In: Gebke, Julia / Mai, Stephan / Muigg, Christof (ed.): Das Diplomatische Selbst in der Frühen Neuzeit
Verhandlungsstrategien, Erzählstrategien, Beziehungsdynamiken (Münster 2022), 257-271.

https://www.aschendorff-buchverlag.de/digibib/?digidownload&tid=24863

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One of these #Congolese #ambassadors to #Rome was Antonio Emanuel Ne Vunda.

We do not know much about him – a fate he shares with most #emdiplomats. He was a close relative to the Congolese king. In 1604 he left #Congo and set off for Rome where he arrived in 1608. Unfortunately, he died only two days after his arrival of illness. (6/6)

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@earlymodern @womenknowhistory

Indigenous #Ethiopian #ambassadors were usually religious officials of high rank or trusted members of the imperial household, perhaps because the Ethiopians thought that European Christian powers could best be approached by men of religion.

Indigenous #Congolese ambassadors, on the other hand, were normally relatives of the king and could be cast in a much more ‘noble’ or princely light. As high-ranking royal relatives and courtiers, they donned expensive European clothes given to them by the Portuguese monarchs or popes on arrival at court.

One other outstanding difference is noticeable between #ambassadors from these two countries, for some Congolese ambassadors brought their wives, who represented yet another facet of #Africa – African womanhood. (5/6)

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The situation is quite different for #Congo.

After the christianisation of the kingdom, #diplomats were dispatched to the #pope

“The problem for Congolese #ambassadors was that their route to #Rome inexorably passed through #Portugal (as they had to take ships to reach #Europe and all the ships were Portuguese), but that once in Lisbon, the Portuguese were extremely reluctant to let the Congolese out of their sphere of influence and so kept them in Portugal. [...] Portugal guarded its power over the Congo jealously, and it is not coincidental that Congolese ambassadors started appearing in Rome only after Portugal's annexation by #Spain in 1580,” as Lowe explains. (4/6)

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@Bibliothecaris @oscgroningen Thank you for having me! Hope to discuss the topic of Mastodon #ambassadors for friends and family on a personal level in a potential workshop next time. :)

One of these #Congolese #ambassadors to #Rome was Antonio Emanuel Ne Vunda. We do not know much about him – a fate he shares with most #emdiplomats. He was a close relative to the Congolese king. In 1604 he left #Congo and set off for Rome where he arrived in 1608. Unfortunately, he died only two days after his arrival of illness.

Luckily, we have an copper engraving of him that shows him in the #European style typcial of the time. This could reflect the fact that he adapted to Euopean fashion. However, it also could be expression of European eurocentric world view that tried to fit him in by depicting the Congolese ambassador as European. (6/6)

@histodons @earlymodern @historikerinnen

Indigenous #Ethiopian #ambassadors were usually religious officials of high rank or trusted members of the imperial household, perhaps because the Ethiopians thought that #European Christian powers could best be approached by men of religion. Indigenous# Congolese ambassadors, on the other hand, were normally relatives of the king and could be cast in a much more ‘noble’ or princely light. As high-ranking royal relatives and courtiers, they donned expensive European clothes given to them by the Portuguese monarchs or popes on arrival at court. One other outstanding difference is noticeable between ambassadors from these two countries, for some Congolese ambassadors brought their wives, who represented yet another facet of #Africa – African womanhood. (5/6)

#emdiplomacy #earlymodern #NewDiplomaticHistory #histodons #history #AdventCalendar2024 #AdventCaldendar

@histodons @earlymodern @historikerinnen

#Leaked #memo shows #JDVance #blocked #ambassadors who #supported #LGBTQ+ #policies

As a #senator, #Trump’s #VP #nominee took a particular #interest in #Prideflags and #genderneutral #bathrooms.

https://www.advocate.com/election/leaked-memo-jd-vance-blocked-ambassadors-who-supported-lgbtq-policies

Read the letter signed by a long list of fmr #ambassadors & other policymakers who have worked in the #WhiteHouse, #StateDepartment, #Pentagon & elsewhere.

#KamalaHarris #NationalSecurity #NATO #geopolitics #diplomacy #democracy #HarrisForPresident #Election2024 #Harris2024
https://www.washingtonpost.com/documents/9ed12fbf-99e1-4766-92b5-57899d847ec0.pdf

The most important group of #ambassadors to Madrid were the French ambassador, the Imperial ambassador to the Empire, the nuncio, and the Venetian ambassador.

Madrid did not have a diplomatic district. Diplomatic #envoys did enjoy immunity in the #embassy, with the king himself offering them lodgings for rent upon their arrival. Nevertheless, the ambassadors complained of the difficulties in gaining an audience with the ruler.

Following the union of the Portuguese and Spanish crowns in 1580, a global dimension of Spanish #diplomacy was developed which enhanced the reputation of the Spanish kings. (5/n)

@historikerinnen @histodons @earlymodern

The second part of the #emdiplomacy handbook focuses on (contemporary) diplomatic discourses. Dante Fedele opens this section with a chapter on contemporary #discourses on #earlymodern #diplomacy. He argues that the many #treatises and tracts on #earlymodern #ambassadors and the art of #negotiation played a central role in the professionalization of #emdiplomacy. (2/6)

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