Dutch-Portuguese Diplomatic Encounters, 1640-1703: Exchanges, Sovereignty and “World Peace”

This article traces the multiplex relationships established between Portuguese ambassadors, consuls and extraordinary envoys in the Dutch Republic between 1640 and 1703 with the Portuguese kingdom, the king, the Portuguese “Nation” in Amsterdam and the Dutch States General. In negotiating multiple contracts and treaties regarding “world peace,” these men determined the course of history not so much because they were bound by the service of a state or a king but rather because they served a multiplicity of interests that often damaged national interest in favor of specific interest groups. The article focuses particularly on the Dutch-Portuguese clashes in Western Africa and Brazil and how their settlements impacted the Dutch-Portuguese power sharing in Asia, ultimately challenging premises of sovereignty at a global scale.

Impact of Multiplex Relationships on Rural Science Education

Relationships play a strong role in rural communities and education, and multiplex relationships – relationships that can overlap due to multiple contexts of interaction in a rural school – are unique to the rural setting. This study focused on multiplex relationships and their impact on science classroom performance, as measured by science standardized test scores, through the lens of Social Capital Theory. Quantitative survey results from rural science teachers regarding number of student relationships and state-based science test scores were correlated. Additionally, qualitative survey answers from a subset of respondents were used to construct a more complete picture of the essence of these relationships and their perceived impacts. Results indicate multiplex relationships do not impact science test score achievement however, teacher accounts of classroom experiences with students illustrate a strong perception that multiplex relationships increase their ability to help students succeed.

Examining the Overlap

Scholars have long been aware of the advantages of social capital to individual performance. It remains unclear whether these advantages reflect the effects of relationships in which people discuss only work-related issues, or whether they are attributable to the effects of multiplex relationships, in which people discuss work-related and non-work-related issues. To investigate this question, we conducted two studies using network analysis: a cross-sectional study of specialty bank employees and a longitudinal study of middle managers enrolled in an MBA course. Multiplex relationships consistently predicted performance advantages in both samples, whereas work-focused ties that excluded a social dimension did not. Furthermore, when individuals maintained too many multiplex relationships, performance returns diminished. These findings demonstrate that the network literature may benefit from greater specificity on relational content and more attention to the consequences of overlapping networks, in the form of multiplex ties.