NOTE: I AM NOT A DIRECTOR BY TRADE
Likely not, however it's impossible to say for certain. There are several factors/musings/thoughts to take into consideration here, outlined below.
The idea of a conductor as separate personnel didn't occur until the early 1900's. Until that point, composers usually conducted their own scores. Composers like Mendelssohn, Berlioz, and Wagner were among the first to popularize the idea of a conductor as a profession. The idea of a dedicated conductor didn't arise until much later; before that, the composer or de facto leader of the orchestra would give beats visibly, by moving the bow or arm in some way, shape, or form.
Notation, instrumentation, and styles have all DRASTICALLY changed since the 17th century. Instruments such as the (modern) tuba weren't a thing in the orchestra until early 1900's. Between the 18th century until now, many musical changes have taken place. Time signatures, tonalities, instrumentations, and ensembles, among other things, have all drastically changed.
Is said conductor directing something from his/her time or from the modern era? Is s/he going to conduct something like this? Okay, that's doable. Or something like this or this? Well good luck.
Citations/further reading:
http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1099&context=ppr
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/131701/conductor
http://www.blackdiamondbrass.com/tbahist/tubahist.htm
Wright & Simms, Music in Western Civilization (media update), chapter 80 (I think -- it's the one on Mahler)
I am an undergraduate music education student, and I just finished my last conducting course.
I can assure that, given enough rehearsal time, any conductor who has an idea of what he/she wants from an orchestra can get that, if they are working with professionals.
For example, look at how Berstein conducts about four beats, then spends the rest of the movement making faces at the orchestra to convey how he wants the music to sound.
If I tried to pull that off in my conducting auditions, the music would not only fail, I would be laughed off the stage.
Karajan, the famous conductor who revived the Berlin Philharmonic after World War II famously never looked at his performers. That would earn me a C when I conduct. Maybe a B if I could get the performers to sound as wonderful as he did.
To come back to your question, conducting techniques in the 1700s were primitive. Often it consisted of just banging a stick on the ground to keep time for the performers. French composer Jean-Baptiste Lully managed to slam said conducting rod on his toe, leading to gangrene and his eventual death in 1687 Source. While crude. just about any modern ensemble could follow that.