Francisco Mendes de Goes: a diplomatic agent among embroiderers and tailors at the court of Louis XV

Abstract:

In 1726 Francisco Mendes de Goes was appointed Agent at the Parisian court by D. João V to perform the function of the king’s orderly, being assigned the mission of manager of orders made by the royal family. In this article, we will use two sets of documents that end up revealing the troubled stay of Mendes de Goes. The letters sent to Cardinal da Mota reveal the difficulties faced in order to respond to the volume of orders coming from the Portuguese monarchy. The other set of documents reveals that members of the Portuguese aristocracy also overloaded the agent with personal orders. In this set of documents, the content of the orders allows us to glimpse aspects of material culture, as well as the sociability relations established by Mendes de Goes. Both reveal new facets of the diplomatic career that, until then, have been little explored in the History of Diplomacy.

Keywords:
D. João V (1689-1750); Francisco Mendes de Goes (1670-1753); Diplomacy