Publishing Le Parfait Ambassadeur for Richelieu: the Translation of Vera’s El Enbaxador in Early Modern Europe

Abstract

The central years of Richelieu’s government saw a notable increase in the number of political treatises published in Paris after the Journée des Dupes in 1630. Such treatises not only reflected the cardinal’s ideas on political practice but also served to justify them. El Enbaxador (1620) was the first treatise on the ambassadorial office ever written in Spanish, produced at the end of the reign of Felipe III by Juan Antonio de Vera, a nobleman, writer and future ambassador of the Spanish Monarchy. When published in French as Le Parfait Ambassadeur in 1635, it resonated with the political debate in Richelieu’s entourage. Significantly, the text was addressed to Abel Servien, secretary of state for war and main collaborator of the cardinal minister. The translation operation, which involved remarkable adaptations, reveals the compatibility between Vera’s treatise and the aforementioned political debate. The French translation of 1635 was also instrumental to the dissemination of El Enbaxador in early modern Europe, since the later editions in French and Italian, five in total, depend on it. Interestingly, the European fortunes of El Enbaxador can be explained by its readings as a treatise on political education, a handbook for ambassadors and an outstanding text of the Republic of Letters.