The Grand Tour of Mercantilism: Lord Fauconberg’s Italian Mission (1669–1671)

Abstract

The extraordinary mission of Lord Fauconberg to some of the Italian states in 1669–1671 took place at a pivotal moment in early modern diplomatic relations, and is a most evocative case-study of the relationship between Restoration England and Europe in the last decades of the seventeenth century. This article will provide a close analysis of the mission and its protagonists, aiming to re-evaluate English diplomacy through cross-referencing English and Italian documentary evidence, but with a special attention to the Italian side of the story. By analysing how the Republic of Venice and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany—the major Italian trade partners of England––perceived and interpreted English trade policy, it provides an original analysis of Caroline diplomacy and trade in the early Restoration era.