The ambassador was moved partly by greed and partly by the belief that he had been slighted in his pursuit of influence at court.
In 1587 –1588 the English ambassador to France (a high aristocrat and relative of Queen Elizabeth I ) used his position to pass English secrets to Spain and send home misleading information about Spanish intentions -this as Spain was preparing to invade England. Before about 1650, ideas of patriotism and national loyalty remained weak, and many aristocrats held on to medieval ideas of their political autonomy when aristocrats believed the state had mistreated them, it was often possible for a foreign government to secure their services. They have shown, first, the remarkable range of opportunities that governments had for recruiting foreign informants at all levels of society. Nonetheless, these case studies have established some elements of a general history of early modern espionage. Documentation concerning spying is inevitably difficult to interpret, and the best studies of early modern espionage have been close examinations of specific cases rather than general histories. It has not been easy for historians to sort out the complex patterns of espionage that responded to these needs. After about 1650, as governments became more alert to the economic components of power, they also sought a better understanding of the economic conditions of their rivals. All governments sought to provoke dissension among their enemies, encouraging rebellions and suborning rival commanders whenever possible, and as wars wound down, each combatant needed to know as much as possible about what the others would accept in an eventual peace treaty. When campaigning in unfamiliar territory, generals needed informants who could describe local geography and alert them to its dangers and possibilities. In dealing with foreign powers, they needed information on opponents' plans and resources: the sizes and movements of their armies, the state of their fortifications, the funds they had available.
At home governments were continually on the lookout for dangerous opinions and plotting by their subjects. Early modern Europeans believed spying to be a necessary complement to both warfare and effective government.
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