Читать книгу Enemigos íntimos. España y los Estados Unidos antes de la Guerra de Cuba (1865-1898) онлайн

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Introducción

It is a common error to think of diplomacy as primarily and chiefly connected with questions of peace and war, acquisitions of territory, negotiations of treaties, etc. These are exceptional to the ordinary routine of diplomatic life. A reference to the subject of the “dispatches” will show that a hundred other questions, not of minor importance, affecting the rights or interests of citizens, employ the time and ability of those who have been called “the eye and the ear of a State”. In the eager and active competition of nations, in the struggle for markets and wealth, much can be done by foreign representatives for the extension of trade and in aid of investors, merchants, shippers and manufacturers. What is done by those abroad, in watchful promotion of American interests, is not made prominent in the newspapers, does not inflame the public mind and forms no issue in local or general elections. What is quietly discussed and decided in an office sometimes modifies international usage, is sometimes incorporated into mercantile or commercial law and habit and very often contributes to prosperity and friendshipssss1.