News Management and Diplomacy in the Anglo-Dutch Public Sphere, 1685-1713

‘So much approved of by all inquisitive persons’: News Management and Diplomacy in the Anglo-Dutch Public Sphere, 1685-1713 Speaker: Baz Bowdler (St Andrews) At the turn of the eighteenth century English men and women eager for news looked above all to the Dutch Republic. Dutch couranten (newspapers) could be found in London coffeehouses and were subscribed to by individuals across the British Isles. They were read not just for their reportage of European affairs, but also for the openness with which they reported on the supposedly private proceedings of Parliament. This paper will explore both the influence of the Dutch Republic on early eighteenth-century news culture, and how British statesmen sought to manage it. Stuart diplomats recognised that the influence of Dutch news was a double-edged sword, which could be used to slander the Stuart state but also to promote it both at home and abroad. In the process, British ambassadors and Dutch gazetteers forged contested relationships defined both by conflict and mutual-benefit. By examining Anglo-Dutch news culture, this paper reveals the contested and public dimensions of early eighteenth-century diplomacy and the transnational nature of British news culture.