Arthur Villettes was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

who played an important role in diplomatic negotiations of the 18th century often serving as an envoy of the long-standing controller of British foreign policy the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, Willi ...

. This reached a height during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

when he served as the British Resident in Sardinia, and was given enormous discretion over negotiations with Britain's Allies and opponents until he caused serious offence to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

following the Siege of Genoa in 1746.Lodge p.201-02 Between 1750 and 1765, he served as British Ambassador to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

References

Bibliography

* Lodge, Sir Richard. ''Studies in Eighteenth Century Diplomacy 1740-1748''. John Murray, 1930. British people of the War of the Austrian Succession 18th-century British diplomats Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Switzerland Year of birth missing Year of death missing {{UK-diplomat-stub