The Anglo-Spanish peace, 1604-1625, initiated exchange of resident diplomats and encouraged trade Two major sources of mutually experienced friction, persistent throughout the period, were capable of producing situations and events that individually might reach crisis proportions, but were incapable of causing war. The most immediate was generated by English merchants trafficking to Spain. The other was provided by pirates in the Mediterranean and other European waters. This friction served a negative and positive role in the context of Anglo-Spanish diplomacy. Demanding bilateral attention, friction necessitated keeping diplomatic channels of communication open One resident embassies were established, English and Spanish policymakers and policy-implementors began to assess the problems associated with these sources of friction and to address them with in the diplomatic and geographic context of the Treaty of London The development of diplomatic procedures and institutions to any point resembling their modern counterparts was accomplished in routine, often mundane, fashion through a long evolutionary process prompted by self-interested necessity and rarely by any predetermined master plan. By examining the early modern period, during intervals of peace, this process is revealed Three case studies, presented chronologically, illustrate diplomatic activity triggered by merchant and pirate related friction, and demonstrate the epitome of routine diplomacy: it encompasses non-events rather than momentous issues; it embraces actions of non-resounding, significance, rather than those capable of initiating war Case study one. A New Diplomatic Institution: The Seville Consulate reveals the evolution of a merchant-elected, commercial office into a government-appointed, diplomatic office. In theory, this represents the evolution of a new diplomatic institution as defined by the diplomat selected to fill a previously commercial office Case study two. An Existing Institution: The English Admiralty Court analyzes the use of that international law court in resolving a piracy case initiated by the Spanish resident in London. Brought against a bogus ambassador, the Palache case offered a forum for the Spanish ambassador to press for diplomatic, as well as legal satisfaction and to engage in precedent-setting conduct Case study three. An Extraordinary Agreement: The Joint Piracy Project examines the Anglo-Spanish effort to subdue a mutual enemy as represented by an attempt on the Algiers pirate base. Most significant, the agreement reaffirmed the Treaty of London and preserved that peace well after the beginning of the Thirty Years War
