Prywatna korespondencja hrabiego Arandy z Warszawy (1760-1762)

Abstrakt

Private correspondence of the Spanish diplomats of the 18^th century gives a lot of interesting information that complements the contents of official reports. Count Pedro de Aranda was one of the outstanding Spanish politicians and reformers of the 18^th century. In the years 1760-62 he stayed in Warsaw as Charles III's Ambassador Extraordinary to the Polish Republic and August III. At that time he carried on private correspondence with Ricardo Wall, the First Secretary of State responsible for Spain's foreign policy. In the Warsaw letters Aranda presents himself as a man of the Enlightenment, a politician concerned about his country, a diplomat watching with interest the changing arrangement of powers in Europe. He reveals his views that he would not be able to deliver in official letters. This especially regards his attitude towards the Church, the Inquisition and the trends in Spanish foreign policy. At the same time he may be seen as a private person with his advantages and disadvantages. Aranda likes social life and pomp. The kind of life he leads in Warsaw is to be a credit to himself and to the King of Spain. The present text is an attempt at outlining the problems contained in the Spanish diplomat's private correspondence.