This study explores how the Spanish monarchy under Philip IV developed into a major diplomatic power between 1648 and 1660.

Based on archival research in Spain, Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden, and drawing on concepts from multilingual historiography and sociology, the book examines in detail the diplomatic missions of Bernardino de Rebolledo in Copenhagen (1648–1659) and Antonio Pimentel in Stockholm (1652–1654), and offers a cultural history of political, organizational, and diplomatic practices in a period marked by uncertainty. The book also considers the confessional dimension of diplomacy and sheds new light on the Spanish monarchy’s relations with the monarchies of Denmark-Norway and Sweden.

Providing valuable insights for historians of the Spanish monarchy and for scholars of premodern diplomacy, the book offers the first comprehensive examination of the Nordic dimension of foreign policy under Philip IV, and proposes a new way to understand the Spanish monarchy’s resilience.