To whom did a country pass a declaration of war in initially - the adversary's ambassador? How, also, was the declaration of war transmitted to those who needed to know in an age where electronic telegraph did not exist?
Was any time allowed between declaration arriving with the adversary head of state and operations starting, and the slow passage of information taken into account? Obviously some calculation could be made as to when one's adversary might expect to receive it, but there must have been all kinds of potential delays that would make it all a bit nebulous.
It seem to me that waiting just passed the initiative to the adversary.
I was also wondering if there were any rules of international law in this context, written or otherwise?
I see that modern state systems are generally reckoned to have emerged in the mid-17th Century and I know that a lot of philosophical stuff about the conduct of states was written in the 18th century, and that this appears to have been influential in America, but I am unclear as to the extent of its influence in Europe, if at all.
A number of modern writers on the period allude to declarations of war or 'formal' declarations of war without elaborating on them. Was there an 'informal' declaration of war? What, also, is a 'letter of intent'. This is another term I have encountered that seems to equate to a declaration of war.
Grateful for any pointers.
JC