Gesprekken in Genua. Giovanni Costa over het Twaalfjarig Bestand

Abstract

In early-modern Europe, historiography was often deployed as a political means for addressing internal issues. An example of such a history text written with a local agenda in mind is the tract Ragionamento sopra la triegua de' Paesi Bassi by Giovanni Costa, which was published in 1610 in Genoa. Taking the actual case of the Twelve Years' Truce during the period of the Dutch Revolt, Costa discusses in fact the internal affairs of Genoa, a Ligurian city-state functioning as satellite state of the Spanish Habsburg Empire. This article is centered on the question of why Costa opted for such an abstract and remote topic for this politico-economic backdrop, and also addresses the matter of his intended readership.