Advising the King on Conspiracies? Bernardino de Rebolledo’s Account of Dina Vinhofvers’s Scandal
Enrique J. Corredera Nilsson is a member of the Research & Infrastructure Team at the library of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences. Holding a PhD in early modern history, Enrique Corredera Nilsson specializes in Open Science and Open Access. Until December 2024, he acts as the project leader of GOAL. In his contribution to our collective volume “Rebellion and Diplomacy in Early Modern Europe”, Enrique deals with Spanish-Scandinavian diplomacy in the 17th century:
This chapter examines the reports of Spanish diplomats about a conspiracy at the Danish court in the mid-seventeenth century. In 1650, the most powerful man in the state after the king, Corfitz Ulfeldt, high steward of the realm, was accused by his mistress Dina Vinhofver, a commoner, of planning a poison attack on the monarch together with his wife, the king’s half-sister. The chapter studies the diplomatic correspondence of Bernardino de Rebolledo, envoy to the Danish court in Copenhagen, and Manuel Bocarro y Rosales, who served the Spanish king in Hamburg. Working in one of the most important news hubs in the German-speaking world, the latter was in contact with middlemen and screened numerous newspaper reports. In addition to providing information about the events, which could become relevant for Spanish foreign policy and relations with Denmark, the two diplomatic representatives were also interested in drawing lessons from the scandal for the domestic policy of the Spanish Empire under Philip IV. Avoiding open criticism of the situation in Spain, the Danish example allowed Rebolledo to articulate more detached advice to his king.

Bernardino de Rebolledo, portrait published in «Retratos de Españoles ilustres», Real Imprenta de Madrid, 1791
OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Monika Barget (June 8, 2015). Advising the King on Conspiracies? Bernardino de Rebolledo’s Account of Dina Vinhofvers’s Scandal. Revolts as Communication. Retrieved February 8, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/towa