insightLMU RESEARCH
Issue 4 · 2009
HUMANITIES AND CULTURAL STUDIES
MARCUS SIMON
B A V A R I A ’S F O R E I G N R E L A T I O N S
Bavaria has participated in diplomatic relations with the rest of Europe since the 16th
century, and these contacts eventually gave rise to an astonishingly extensive international network. The historian Professor Ferdinand Kramer and his colleagues have
been studying diverse aspects of Bavaria’s external relations during the modern period.
A new database being assembled by his staff now greatly facilitates the often arduous
task of evaluating the relevant documentary material.
When, in 1862, during the American Civil War, General Benjamin F. Butler captured New
Orleans, one of the most important centers of the Confederacy, the military battle for the
city ended. But political conflicts continued to smoulder. One such dispute involved the
resident consuls of European powers: When General Butler tried to confiscate their possessions, the foreign representatives claimed diplomatic immunity. When he had the office of the Dutch consul searched on May 10, the other 18 consuls lodged a formal protest
against the measure. Together with the emissaries of the great powers France, Great Britain and Russia, the representative of the Kingdom of Bavaria, Jakob Eimer, was a party to
the protest: On May 13, he wrote a report on the tumultuous political events in New Orleans for the Bavarian foreign ministry in far-away Munich. “The consuls’ main duty was
to establish contacts with local economic interest, but they also collected information on
political, social and cultural developments,” explains Professor Ferdinand Kramer of the
Institute of Bavarian History. In cooperation with Professor Alois Schmid and the State
Archives of Bavaria, members of the Institute have been working for some time on an
ambitious project. Their goal is to carry out a detailed analysis of Bavaria’s relations with
the outside world during the modern period: “First of all, we want to study the institutional bases of foreign relations – the diplomatic and consular missions, which often initiated
or stimulated cultural and economic exchanges, while their personnel built up a network
of contacts that transcended the boundaries of territories and states,” says Ferdinand
Kramer. “But our work will also make more widely available the reports and other official
papers – and quite often personal correspondence – that originated in the diplomatic
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missions. These records constitute an invaluable source for research and how
people pictured and presented their own
countries and perceived others, as well as
throwing light on transnational interactions and social conditions in the receiving countries,” adds Professor Kramer.
Several Master’s and doctoral theses have
already been devoted to these topics.
More recently, a new tool has become
available that makes work on the archival
sources easier. Researchers at the institute have assembled a comprehensive
database that documents Bavaria’s
foreign relations in the modern period. In
an effort that has taken several years, data
The Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Bavaria.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
on over 3000 people who served as diplomats or consuls of Bavaria abroad, or as
accredited representatives of foreign states in Bavaria, have been incorporated into the
database. This material will eventually be integrated into the Bavarian State Library’s
website, the major portal for information on Bavaria’s cultural history. But even in its
present state, the database has proved to be a boon for researchers. For example,
Dr. Martin Ott of the Institute of Bavarian History has used it to investigate the history of
the Bavarian Consulate in New Orleans. He has been able to determine what qualities
consuls required in order to exercise their functions effectively, and has defined their
status and duties. Of course, the central question is: What considerations led a German
state of medium size to establish a consulate in distant America in the first place?
A B AVA R I A N C O N S U L D I D N ’ T H AV E TO B E A B AVA R I A N
The first Bavarian consulate overseas opened in Buenos Aires in 1826. The first mission
in America was established in 1834 and was based in New York. The consulate in New
Orleans was set up much later, in 1856, and was one of a total of eleven in the USA. Bavarian consuls were not salaried state employees, but served on an honorary basis. Persons who aspired to the rank of consul had to have established a profitable business, be
well respected and have a wide range of contacts. It was not necessary to be a native of
Bavaria. One only had to show evidence of German ancestry. The local chambers of commerce at home had a significant say in the appointment of a consul, and often their nominees were accepted. In the case of New Orleans, however, the process took a different
course, as Martin Ott discovered. The chambers of commerce in Upper Bavaria and Central Franconia each nominated a candidate for the post. However, the Bavarian Minister
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of Foreign Affairs chose a third person,
Jakob Eimer. Eimer was a businessman
and was already acting as consul for
both Austria and Baden. This latter factor, however, did not disqualify him
from consideration by the Bavarians.
On the contrary, it proved that he had
the experience and, above all, the requisite contacts for the job.
What did consuls actually do? Normally,
they were not given detailed instructions. Only on the occasion of his appointment did Jakob Eimer receive an
extensive briefing. He himself was responsible for obtaining from the receiving state, the USA, formal permission to
In 1799, Elector Maximilian IV. appointed Maximilian von Montgelas minister
of foreign affairs. It is, however, a lesser-known fact that Montgelas travelled
to France as an extraordinary envoy in 1804. Moreover, he completed a degree
in Law at the University of Strasbourg where there was a kind of “diplomatic
school”. This context inspired former German Minister of Foreign Affairs Joschka
carry out consular functions − the socalled “exequatur”. He was then permitted to open an official place of busi-
Fischer to suggest the formation of a European School for Diplomats in Stras-
ness, which bore the emblem of the
bourg.
sending state. When he appeared at of-
Picture: Oil painting by Joseph Haubner, Munich 1804.
Source: Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte ( Centre of Bavarian History )
ficial functions, he wore the uniform of
a Bavarian legation secretary, i.e., a
member of the upper echelons of the foreign service. His duties included protecting the
interests of Bavarian subjects on his station, as well as those of other German states that
were members of the German customs union. Consuls could issue passports only if they
had special permission to do so, but Jakob Eimer did have this privilege. If a Bavarian
subject died abroad, the consul had to safeguard the assets of the deceased and inform
the next-of-kin. The surviving spouse – in most cases the wife – could only remarry if he
or she was in possession of an authenticated death certificate. The procurement and provision of death certificates became an increasingly onerous part of the job as the rate of
emigration increased. Between 1856 and 1863, Jakob Eimer dealt with over 1000 such
cases. He also had to submit annually a detailed report on the economic situation of his
posting to the authorities at home. The central element of this report was a description of
the development of trade relations with German states. Since consuls received no remuneration for their work, their home governments regarded them primarily as cheap
sources of economic intelligence, who also provided administrative services for emigrants.
Of course, assessments of the political situation also found their way from New Orleans
to the Bavarian capital, although such reports were not demanded of consulates. First and
foremost, consuls were expected to encourage and further economic exchanges. The
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political sphere was the concern of the embassies. These institutions formed the peak of
the diplomatic pyramid, and there one found quite a different clientele. While consuls
were almost exclusively recruited from the merchant class, political diplomacy long remained the domain of the aristocracy. “The aristocracy dominated diplomacy at that time,
and even today they are well represented in the profession,” says Ferdinand Kramer.
“One had to be personally acceptable to the government or court of the receiving state.”
In the late 18th century, Bavaria tried to place the career of the diplomat on a more professional footing. Although no regular training schools were set up, the researchers have
found evidence that in the 18th century Bavarian diplomats consciously began to see
themselves as members of a “corps diplomatique”, and in the 19th century, a kind of
“nursery” for diplomats had developed. “Individual career paths vary widely, but one can
discern that prospective diplomats were first entrusted with functions in the central administrative offices of the electoral states and in imperial institutions, where they were
able to familiarize themselves with the conventions of diplomacy and elements of international law,” says Ferdinand Kramer.
R E L I A B L E PA R T N E R O F T H E P O P E
Bavaria’s first legation opened in Rome in 1605. This very early move underlines the
close connections between the dukes of Bavaria and the Catholic Church during the turbulent era of the Reformation. Indeed, Bavaria long remained one of the most important
and steadfast allies of the papacy. “But embassies were also affected by the wider political situation,” explains Martin Ott. “In the the 16th and 17th centuries, for instance, the
Vatican had the status of a great power, but later its political significance declined.” The
material already in the database clearly reflects the shift in the balance of power during
the course of the 18th century. Above all, the embassies in Paris and Vienna took on
added significance. “In the power game between Habsburg and France, Bavarian support could always tip the balance in one direction or the other,” says Ferdinand Kramer.
Indeed, France retained its special position for Bavaria through the 19th and into the
20th century. After 1918, France actually had a fully fledged legation (an institution that
normally operated in an independent state) in Munich. “But this policy came to nothing,”
as Ferdinand Kramer emphasizes. “The French envoy had a hard time in Munich. After
the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, he was simply ignored by the local political elite,
and in restaurants was often insulted by other guests. The ambassador’s difficulties in the
years after the First World War led him to redefine his function, and he began to place
more emphasis on cultural as opposed to political issues.
Although the integration of Bavaria into the German Empire ultimately brought an end to
Bavarian diplomacy, Bavarian embassies continued to operate for some time. In 1914,
there were Bavarian embassies in France, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Italy, at the Holy See
and in Switzerland. Bavaria’s last diplomatic missions ceased to function when the
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National Socialists closed the agencies in Berlin and Rome in 1934. At the same time,
the last foreign envoys in Munich were recalled by their governments. From then on,
foreign states were represented in Munich only at consular level. After the Second World
War, the allied powers were the first to open consulates in the city, and others soon followed. After the collapse of the iron curtain, many eastern European states opened their
own diplomatic missions. “The growth in the number of consulates is clear evidence that
Munich’s international importance has steadily grown since the 1970s,” says Ferdinand
Kramer. “And research in this area has not yet really begun,” adds Martin Ott. “Our database includes detailed data on when the various states set up consulates in Munich and
how Munich’s international relations have become ever more extensive.” Martin Ott is
confident that further research will also reveal much about the resulting interactions.
“We are interested in the entire period since early modern times, because this allows us
to recognize and analyse the structural changes that have occurred,” says Ferdinand
Kramer. “But in future we will focus on the development of external relations in the postwar period”. The researchers expect to learn much more when the new database
becomes publicly accessible. “We hope that people will contact us as soon as the database goes online,” says Ferdinand Kramer. “Many people are interested in family history.
In the context of an earlier project on the former Bavarian Minister President Gustav von
Kahr, we placed a list of the 800-900 names that are mentioned in his memoirs on the
web, and we soon began to receive e-mails from people who had identified their ancestors on the list and were able to supply further information about them.” Maybe this kind
of response will lead to the sort of discovery that Gerhard Hetzer made, quite by accident,
in New Orleans. The director of the Central State Archive of Bavaria, which cooperates
closely with the Institute of Bavarian History, found in the Archive of the Historic New
Orleans Collection papers and other documents originating from the former Bavarian
consulate in the city. “When the consulate finally closed in 1871, the Bavarian authorities
did not lay claim to the documents,” explains Martin Ott. This serendipitous discovery
allowed Martin Ott to obtain a deep insight into the workings of one Bavarian consulate
overseas, incidentally enabling him to learn something about the problems faced by the
Union General Benjamin J. Butler in his dealings with the foreign consuls resident in New
Orleans.
Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Kramer has held the chair of Bavarian History and Comparative Regional History since 1999.
He also chairs the Bavarian University Conference of Regional Historians, and is a member of the scientific board
of the commission for Bavarian History at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
[email protected]
www.bg.geschichte.uni-muenchen.de/personen/professoren/kramer_ferdinand
Dr. Martin Ott has been a lecturer at the Department of History at LMU Munich since 2005. Before that he was
a fellow in the Research Training Group on „The Italian Renaissance and its impact on the rest of Europe“ at the
University of Bonn, and a staff member of the Institute of Bavarian History at LMU Munich.
[email protected]
www.bg.geschichte.uni-muenchen.de/personen/wissenschaftler/ott_martin
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