An der Wende zum 16. Jahrhundert veränderte sich das diplomatische System in Europa grundlegend. Nach dem Vorbild der Gesandtschaften in Rom, Venedig und Mailand etablierten die Herrscher der europäischen Mächte ständige Gesandtschaften an den Höfen. Das Gesandtschaftspersonal setzte sich aus hochgebildeten Adeligen, das in das politische Handeln der Herrscher eingebettet war, zusammen. Die cartas des Spanischen Diplomaten Gutierre Gomez de Fuensalida am Hof König Maximilians I., bieten einen umfassenden Einblick in die Tätigkeit dieses Berufstandes, der Entscheidungsfindung der handelnden Personen und die Spanische Hofetikette.

In Europe, early modern diplomacy changed to a system of permanent representatives. Venice, Milan and the Catholic Church in Rome were the first to establish resident embassies in Europe. The court of the Catholic Monarchs in Spain sent permanent legats to the court of the king of the Romans. The ambassadors work was highly embedded in the political decisions of the kings and rulers and had a high political and social value. They had to represent the court and to deliver messages. Embassies in this time were not an isolated phenomenon in context of history or diplomatic history. The highly educated noble ambassadors had to deal with uncertain income, lack of equipment and arbitrariness of the political decisions of the principals. They had to be also quite idealistic. Although the Spanish ambassadors were bound to the strict court ceremonial, they had extensive political power. These characteristics influenced the letters of the ambassadors. The cartas of the Spanish ambassador Gutierre Gomez de Fuensalida provide an insight into the working methods of this profession and the knowledge to negotiations, conclusions of contracts and the Spanish court etiquette.