Theater as Diplomacy in the Mission of the 3rd Marquises of Los Balbases (1670–79)

Abstract This article examines the intimate relationship between theater and diplomacy through the case of the 3rd Marquises of Los Balbases. Based on a broad approach to theater, the analysis of the theatrical activity of this cross-cultural couple provides an excellent observatory of the diplomatic possibilities that theater offered as a social event, as a language, as a physical space and as the representation of a fictional action that allowed the staging of what could not be otherwise expressed. On the basis of archival and print sources, this essay shows the role of theater in their mission in the ordinary embassy of Vienna (1670–77), the Congress of Nijmegen (1677–78), and the extraordinary embassy of Paris (1679), discovering it as a crucial resource. This work thus contributes to a better understanding of diplomatic practices during the reign of Carlos ii (1661–1700), its resources, and the importance of the means of soft power.