Rebellion and Diplomacy in Early Modern Europe

In the seventeenth century, riots, rebellions, and revolts flared around Europe. Concerned about their internal stability, many states responded by closely observing the violent upheavals that plagued their neighbors. Rebellion and Diplomacy in Early Modern Europe investigates how in this struggle for intelligence about internal discord, diplomats emerged as key information brokers and interpreters of Europe’s tumultuous political landscape.

The contributions in this volume uncover how diplomatic actors interacted with rulers, opposition leaders, informers, media entrepreneurs, and different audiences in their efforts to understand, communicate, and draw lessons from the insurrections in their time. Rebellion and Diplomacy also examines how diplomats actively tried to shape the course of internal conflicts by managing the dissemination of news, supporting political factions at their court of residence, and even instigating violence.

Covering different European regions from the Iberian Peninsula to Scandinavia and from the British Isles to the Carpathian Basin, the book will appeal to all students and researchers interested in early modern diplomacy, politics, and news cultures.

Monika Barget is an assistant professor for digital historical research methods at the University of Maastricht. Apart from GIS and digital text analysis, her research interests include visual and political cultures of the early modern period. She co-coordinates the DigiKAR geohumanities project and contributes to the DFG Island Studies Network.

David de Boer is a lecturer in early modern history at the University of Amsterdam. His work mainly focuses on migration, religious conflict, and the politics of memory. His first book, The Early Modern Dutch Press in an Age of Religious Persecution: The Making of Humanitarianism, was published in open access in 2023.

Malte Griesse is an associate professor at Nord University and has published extensively on uprisings and violence in early modern Europe. He specializes in Eastern European and Scandinavian history, comparatively studying revolts and government reactions as well as their perceptions across borders.