Abstract

Any analysis of women’s place in the early modern diplomatic world must necessarily begin by recognising the important role played by female rulers (that is, women who ruled in their own right), queens (wives or widows of monarchs), and female regents. Some female rulers were indeed involved in diplomatic negotiations, but it is difficult to determine their true role: were they actual negotiators or mere intermediaries? And apart from rulers, could women act as political agents in foreign countries? Archival documents show that, behind the scenes, women were often very influential (Lucien Bély, Espions et ambassadeurs au temps de Louis XIV (Paris: Fayard, 1990), 174–182.). In this paper I shall try to answer these questions, and to offer a theoretical approach about women in diplomacy. I shall do this by looking at Friedrich Carl von Moser’s treatise L’Ambassadrice et ses droits: an essay, maybe a unique one, about the ‘ambassadress’ – a term that Moser uses to refer to both a female diplomat in her own right and the wife of an ambassador (Friedrich Carl von Moser, L’Ambassadrice et ses droits (Berlin: Etienne de Bourdeaux, 1754).).

摘要

任何对女性在早期现代外交世界中地位的分析都必须首先认识到女性统治者（即以自己的权利统治的女性）、女王（君主的妻子或遗孀）和女性摄政者所发挥的重要作用。一些女性统治者确实参与了外交谈判，但很难确定她们的真正角色：她们是真正的谈判者还是仅仅是中间人？除了统治者，女性能否在外国充当政治代理人？档案文件显示，在幕后，女性往往非常有影响力（Lucien Bély，Espions et ambassadeurs au temps de Louis XIV（巴黎：Fayard，1990），174-182。）。在本文中，我将尝试回答这些问题，并提供一种关于女性外交的理论方法。我将通过阅读 Friedrich Carl von Moser 的论文L'Ambassadrice et ses droits来做到这一点：一篇关于“大使夫人”的文章，也许是一篇独特的文章——Moser 用这个词来指代女性外交官本身和大使的妻子（Friedrich Carl von Moser, L'Ambassadrice et ses droits (Berlin: Etienne de Bourdeaux, 1754).）。