Swiss #emdiplomacy differed in many ways from #emdiplomacy by European #monarchies. For one, the Swiss Cantons didn’t develop a centralized foreign office and didn’t sent permanent #emdiplomats to foreign courts. Instead, they relied heavily on informal diplomatic actors, such as military officers, merchants and clergymen.
This was much cheaper and helped them avoid ceremonial conflicts that they usually could not win against the great European powers. (3/5)

#emdiplomacy #earlymodern #history #histodons #earlyModernEurope