Les Pays-Bas autrichiens, « centre périphérique » de la circulation de l’information pendant la guerre de Sept Ans (1756-1763). Le rôle diplomatique du gouvernement de Bruxelles.

The Diplomatic Revolution of 1756 was a decisive event in the history of the Austrian
Netherlands. The new alliance ensured the security of the Austrian Netherlands, whose strategic location in north-western Europe was put to good use by the Viennese authorities during the Seven Years' War. From Brussels, Count Charles de Cobenzl, Minister Plenipotentiary, used his rich network of informants to obtain news from the states bordering the Netherlands (France, Great Britain and western Germany). The ministerial
correspondence between Cobenzl and Kaunitz was the instrument for a rapid and efficient flow of information about the conflict. The news first converged in Brussels in the hands ofCobenzl, who had the task of sorting it out and then bringing it back to Vienna to Chancellor Kaunitz. However, the Austrian policy of centralising information was hampered by distance and the means of communication in the 18th century. The government in Brussels therefore had its own sphere of influence with neighbouring powers. Through the study of diplomatic correspondence, this article raises the question of the place of the Netherlands within the Habsburg Monarchy with regard to the circulation of information, as well as the relationship
between centre and periphery.