Mazarin's long war against the Habsburgs, the final part of the
Thirty Years' War, was successful, but the cost was enormous. Resentment grew against the Spanish Queen and her Italian prime minister, and culminated in
the Fronde, a rebellion against the government by members of the nobility and discontented citizens of Paris, which lasted from 1648 until 1653. Mazarin was forced to raise money by any means possible to support the war against the Habsburgs. His financial counselor was
Michel Particelli d'Émery, also Italian. When taxes, loans, and the sale of titles did not bring in enough, he sought new sources of income. He discovered an old law dating to Henry IV which forbade Parisians to build houses outside the city limits. Since the city had grown well outside its old boundaries, in 1644 he imposed heavy fines on all those who lived outside the city limits. In addition, he taxed all merchandise being brought into the city. One measure caused particular resentment among the nobility; he imposed a special tax on all the nobles who served on the various royal courts and councils, amounting to four years of their fees.
The Fronde of the Parliament (about 1650). The caption reads, "Despite Mazarin, the
frondeurs assure the safety of the state." The center of resistance was the
Paris parlement, an ancient assembly of nobles which served as a high court of appeals. It was a period of rebellion against monarchs across Europe; independence movements appeared in the Spanish provinces of
Catalonia and
Portugal, a revolutionary seized power in
Naples, and
Charles I of England, the brother-in-law of Louis XIII, was deposed and executed in 1649. In Paris, the members of the
parlement called a special session to debate Mazarin's measures. The meeting was forbidden by Regent, Anne of Austria, but went ahead anyway. The
parlement issued a charter, inspired by the writ of
Habeas Corpus in England, which revoked the authority of the King's justice officials, forbade any new taxes without the approval of the
parlement, and declared that no royal subjects could be imprisoned without due process of law. Mazarin recommended to the Queen that she listen to the
parlement and modify her decrees, but she was furious at their opposition. She waited until the right moment to strike back. The occasion she chose was the celebration of a major victory of the French Army over the Spanish at the
Battle of Lens in Belgium on 26 August 1648. On the day that a special mass was held at the Cathedral of
Notre Dame de Paris to celebrate the victory, she gave orders to the Captain of her guards to arrest the leaders of the
parlement, including the popular
Pierre Broussel. News of the arrest quickly spread in Paris, and crowds came out into the street to protest and to build barricades. That evening Mazarin wrote in his journal, "the
parlement has performed the functions of the King, and the people have deferred to it entirely." During the Fronde, the anti-Mazarin crowds of Paris enjoyed listening to
Mazarinades, popular songs with verses mocking the Cardinal. Dozens were written and published, accusing him of virtually all possible faults and crimes. Mazarin had a sense of humor, and when the Fronde was finished, he had the best
Mazarinades collected and performed in a concert at his palace. The rebellion lasted for three years. It took its popular name,
Fronde, from the children's
slings (
frondes) which were used by the mobs in the Paris streets to hurl stones. It combined the anger of the Parisians against the new taxes with the resentment of the nobility against the reduction of their ancient privileges. It was led over time by an odd assortment of allies;
Gaston d'Orleans, the brother of Louis XIII;
Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé a brilliant general but poor politician, and the Cardinal
Paul de Gondi, a consummate intriguer. Each of them had different goals, but all agreed that Mazarin should fall. When the Fronde began, the French Army, commanded by the Prince de Condé was far from Paris, fighting the Austrians. Mazarin quickly sent an envoy to the Emperor in Vienna, calling for a truce and peace conference. The
Peace of Westphalia, ending the war, was signed 24 October 1648. Despite the peace, disturbances continued in the streets of Paris. During the night of January 6, 1649, Mazarin secretly took the young Louis XIV, Anne of Austria and the court to the safety of the
Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, just west of Paris. Mazarin then set to work intriguing to divide the different factions of the Fronde. His goal was to separate the members of the Parlement and the more radical Parisian street demonstrators, who were united only by their dislike of Mazarin and Anne of Austria. As soon as the war was concluded, he brought Condé and his army back to Paris and placed the city under blockade. He then persuaded the
Parlement that they had more to fear from an uprising of the
Parisiens than they did from him. On 14 March 1649 Mazarin accepted many of the reforms demanded by the
Parlement. In return, the Parlement supporters laid down their weapons and allowed Anne of Austria, the young Louis XIV and Mazarin to return to Paris.
The Fronde of the Princes , leader of the second Fronde The
Parlement accepted Mazarin and his government, but the Fronde was still not finished. Many
frondeurs were unhappy with the compromise reached in 1649. Once in Paris, Condé made endless demands on Anne of Austria until she finally angrily dismissed him. One of the other leaders of the Fronde,
Jean François Paul de Gondi, soon persuaded Condé to join him in bringing down both Mazarin and Anne of Austria. Mazarin had an excellent network of agents, and immediately learned of the plot. On 18 January 1650 Mazarin had Condé, Condé's brother,
Armand de Bourbon, prince de Conti and his brother-in-law,
Henri II d'Orléans, duc de Longueville arrested. The agreements of 1649 had brought peace to Paris, but the unrest of the Fronde continued in other parts of France. Opponents of Mazarin disrupted tax collection and administration. As the rebellion grew, Mazarin observed that the rebels were only united in opposition to him. He decided it was wisest to resign his position and leave France while he could. He had Condé freed from prison, and, after a long journey to different cities, settled in
Brühl near
Cologne, as the guest of the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne. From Germany, he sent daily instructions to Anne of Austria and to his agents in France. The strategy was to sow distrust among the different factions of the Fronde. Mazarin's instructions were carried out meticulously by Anne of Austria. His intrigues succeeded in preventing the proposed marriage between one of the leading Frondeurs, the
Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti with
Princess Charlotte-Marie of Lorraine, Mademoiselle de Chevreuse, another of his principal enemies in Paris. He was greatly aided by the political ineptitude of Condé, who offended many of his natural allies. Mazarin urged Anne of Austria to bring him back to Paris as soon as possible, "to correct the greatest attack ever made against the royal authority". and the army loyal to
Anne of Austria and Mazarin Once back in Paris, Mazarin soon made an alliance with his old enemy, Cardinal
Jean François Paul de Gondi. Condé departed to Bordeaux to gather reinforcements. He raised an army of Spanish and French soldiers, and marched on Paris, arriving on 2 July. The soldiers loyal to the Queen, commanded by
Turenne, were waiting, and trapped Condé's army against the walls of Paris. An ally of Condé,
the Grande Mademoiselle, ordered the gates of the city opened to rescue Condé's army. The battle was witnessed from the hills of Charonne by the young Louis XIV. As soon as Condé's soldiers entered Paris, he demanded an immediate purge of Mazarin's supporters. Riots broke out around the Bastille, and were suppressed with great difficulty. The Presidents of the
Parlement, now allies of Mazarin, demanded that the violence be stopped and that Condé take his army out of Paris. Reluctantly, Condé left the city, going to the Spanish Netherlands, pursued by Turenne. Louis XIV, now of age to claim his throne, re-entered Paris in October 1652, accompanied by his mother and by Turenne. Mazarin had to wait longer to make his return, which was carefully orchestrated with his help. The Parlement de Paris was first transferred by Anne of Austria from Paris to Pontoise, to see how many members would accept her authority. A majority appeared at the meeting. Following the prepared plan, the Parlement respectfully asked that Mazarin be dismissed, and Anne of Austria agreed. Mazarin, knowing this was the plan, accepted this decision, and waited a respectful time in exile. He made his return to Paris in February 1653. He was welcomed with a triumphal banquet at the Hotel de Ville, where crowds earlier had demanded his downfall. Once he was restored to power, Mazarin began arranging for his nieces, known as the
Mazarinettes, to marry powerful French and Italian noblemen. In order to entice the prospective grooms to marry them despite their lower rank, Mazarin provided large
dowries. Among his seven nieces,
Laura Mancini and
Anne Marie Martinozzi married into the royal
House of Bourbon;
Olympia Mancini married into the
House of Savoy; and
Laura Martinozzi married Duke
Alfonso IV d'Este of Modena. ==Financing the Kingdom – Fouquet and Colbert==