bautista serra, a genovese agent in the court of phillip ii of spain: the particular and the private in the political negotiation

The prominent role played by certain Genoese private individuals and families in the European power balance during the Ancient Régime is essential for understanding the decision making processes and the strategies followed by the Spanish monarchy for the management of critical situations. A telling example is that of Bautista Serra, agent of the Genoese Republic in Madrid between 1614 and 1618. Serra’s instructions aimed at the preservation of Genoa’s status and the perpetuation of the privileges enjoyed by the Genoese in the lands under the Spanish monarch. This, however, did not exclude alternative paths of negotiation not only in order to guarantee the success of his mission, but also to obtain personal gains for him and other Genoese subjects. These were alternative resources in order to get a consensus that complemented the official ones, and that depended on the ability of certain families to enter into international elite networks and to interact with the circles of royal patronage.