The movie "Farinelli", btw, is up at Amazon Prime Germany and available. Maybe also in the US?
This is the kind of thing that could make you miss FW forcing you to get drunk!
...yeah.
Morgenstern, all three of us are sorry for doubting you. Clearly, my next poll should be "where do you want to be stationed as an envoy in 18th century Europe?"
Clearly, my next poll should be "where do you want to be stationed as an envoy in 18th century Europe?"
Clearly! Btw, I have to inform you that Whitworth took longer to start complaining about his Berlin posting than his other postings. The contenders were:
Regensburg: Meeting of the Imperial Diet. Nothing gets done because everyone is busy arguing about protocol. The Bavarians occupy the city at the start of the War of the Spanish Succession and basically keep the Diet ministers prisoner.
Russia: Barbaric, Peter makes you drink and only likes you if you can keep up with him, very cold and very far away, no civilized conversation, have to follow Peter into the field during the Great Northern War if you want to get anything done. Traveling through a devastated-by-war Lithuania is depressing. Traveling to or from Moscow or St. Petersburg will nearly kill you with the river crossing and all the other stuff (I thought of Suhm and how the trip there nearly killed him, and he was crossing rivers holding one kid on each hand).
The Hague: The Estates General are extremely reluctant to get any work done because they're always busy arguing with each other. All business has to be read aloud to the whole group, which means you can't keep anything secret. Extremely high cost of living.
Cambrai: Everyone is committed to not resolving any diplomatic disputes. The real action is happening in Paris and everyone here is out of the loop. Everyone is too busy arguing about protocol, visiting each other, holding processions, etc. Very expensive.
Berlin: Not as expensive as The Hague! (But more expensive than Regensburg.) Some work gets done! He actually likes it at first. But then Whitworth starts complaining. "I live here like a hermit... I have no conversation, and am heartily weary of the place, and shall be ten times more so when my business is over. Besides I am ill lodged and ill served..." (He then wants to go back the Hague, despite the expense, because at least there was decent conversation.)
I get the feeling the grass was always greener on the other side for some of these people.
Ha, true. And as we've said, it very much depended on whether the envoy in question made local connections, hence Hanbury Williams and Andrew Mitchell having very different attitudes to Berlin. While Poniatowski was very much in favor of being stationed in St. Petersburg.:) (Travelling difficulties? Pfff. Who cares, if Sophie awaits!) (Decades later: having to live out his life in a golden Russian cage was so not what he had in mind.)
I'm trying to think which envoys who had international experience would still be pro Berlin. Obviously both sugar daddies (Suhm and Manteuffel), since they chose to reside there even when they weren't being Saxon envoys in Berlin anymore. The Austrian/Imperial envoy just before the 7 Years War was also someone who was liked in Berlin society according to Lehndorff, and hey, even Fritz liked him, but I can't recall a quote as to whether he liked Berlin or not. Valory liked Berlin and both times of his envoyness there but as we know had mixed feelings about Fritz. Stratemann, Mr. Disney, definitely liked it, but then he was a local hired by Team Brunswick to represent them.
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Re: Catching up: Philip V, Rottembourg
This is the kind of thing that could make you miss FW forcing you to get drunk!
...yeah.
Morgenstern, all three of us are sorry for doubting you. Clearly, my next poll should be "where do you want to be stationed as an envoy in 18th century Europe?"
Re: Catching up: Philip V, Rottembourg
Clearly! Btw, I have to inform you that Whitworth took longer to start complaining about his Berlin posting than his other postings. The contenders were:
Regensburg: Meeting of the Imperial Diet. Nothing gets done because everyone is busy arguing about protocol. The Bavarians occupy the city at the start of the War of the Spanish Succession and basically keep the Diet ministers prisoner.
Russia: Barbaric, Peter makes you drink and only likes you if you can keep up with him, very cold and very far away, no civilized conversation, have to follow Peter into the field during the Great Northern War if you want to get anything done. Traveling through a devastated-by-war Lithuania is depressing. Traveling to or from Moscow or St. Petersburg will nearly kill you with the river crossing and all the other stuff (I thought of Suhm and how the trip there nearly killed him, and he was crossing rivers holding one kid on each hand).
The Hague: The Estates General are extremely reluctant to get any work done because they're always busy arguing with each other. All business has to be read aloud to the whole group, which means you can't keep anything secret. Extremely high cost of living.
Cambrai: Everyone is committed to not resolving any diplomatic disputes. The real action is happening in Paris and everyone here is out of the loop. Everyone is too busy arguing about protocol, visiting each other, holding processions, etc. Very expensive.
Berlin: Not as expensive as The Hague! (But more expensive than Regensburg.) Some work gets done! He actually likes it at first. But then Whitworth starts complaining. "I live here like a hermit... I have no conversation, and am heartily weary of the place, and shall be ten times more so when my business is over. Besides I am ill lodged and ill served..." (He then wants to go back the Hague, despite the expense, because at least there was decent conversation.)
I get the feeling the grass was always greener on the other side for some of these people.
Re: Catching up: Philip V, Rottembourg
I'm trying to think which envoys who had international experience would still be pro Berlin. Obviously both sugar daddies (Suhm and Manteuffel), since they chose to reside there even when they weren't being Saxon envoys in Berlin anymore. The Austrian/Imperial envoy just before the 7 Years War was also someone who was liked in Berlin society according to Lehndorff, and hey, even Fritz liked him, but I can't recall a quote as to whether he liked Berlin or not. Valory liked Berlin and both times of his envoyness there but as we know had mixed feelings about Fritz. Stratemann, Mr. Disney, definitely liked it, but then he was a local hired by Team Brunswick to represent them.