ABSTRACT
This paper examines the diplomatic corps of the duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1700‒1730, as it found itself at the very centre of diplomatic tensions between the Russian Empire, Sweden, Prussia, Hanover, Denmark, and England. Based on archival material from the Landeshauptarchiv in Schwerin, it focuses on the language policies of the Mecklenburgian diplomacy and especially on the growing importance of French as the language of communication in the diplomatic relations of the Baltic region. Special attention is given to the use of foreign languages in communications between the Mecklenburgian ambassadors and state officials and their Russian counterparts—the representatives of the ‘new breed’ of diplomats sent to Europe by Peter the Great in the course of the Great Northern War.
