From the Atlantic to Milan and Vienna Communication strategies of the Imperial consul in Cádiz, Paolo Greppi (1774–1791) between diplomacy and business

This contribution analyses the complex exchange of information carried out by the Milanese trader Paolo Greppi, the consul for the Habsburg monarchy in Cádiz from 1774 to 1791. The comparison between his official correspondence and the letters addressed to his father Antonio in Milan shows that the consular post was an important element in Paolo Greppi’s entrepreneurial strategy, in the sense that it offered him a privileged means of accessing information and influencing decision making.