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This article uses the largely neglected papers of Sir Henry Bulwer, British minister at Madrid between 1843 and 1848, as a prism through which to view the fourth Earl of Aberdeen's handling of Anglo-French relations, in general, and in Spain over the marriages of Queen Isabella and her younger sister the Infanta Luisa Fernanda, in particular, during a critical period. It highlights the fact that developments in the historiograhical context and the recent availability of important private papers have created an opportunity for a detailed and much-needed re-examination of Aberdeen's foreign policy, Conservative foreign policy, and British policy towards Spain in the 1840s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers an introduction to the following papers, which represent the results of a round table at the Nordiska Historikermöte 2004 in Stockholm. It discusses the renewed interest in the study of diplomacy and international politics. This revival during the past few decades is sometimes not more than a reinvention of the old diplomatic history. However, it is also influenced by the history of ideas, as elaborated by Anglo‐American historians, and modern cultural sociology. The history of diplomacy seen from the perspective of cultural transfer offers new insights into early modern diplomacy based on a new reading of well‐known material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]