A civil war (1648 – 1652) in France that pitted
feudal rights and absolute monarchy of King Louis XIV.
Causes of
the Fronde
Before the reign of King Louis XIV, feudalism
dominated the society of France. Nobles held power over their holdings and had
the freedom to levy troops and collect taxes provided they accept the King as
their overlord. Hence, countless times some dukes, counts, or any lord held
more power that Kings and Queens. Such as the case of France during the 17th
century.
Situation, however, changed during the reign of
King Louis XIII (r. 1610 – 1643) and his chief minister the cunning Cardinal
Richelieu (1624 - 1642). Together they curtailed the powers of the nobility by appointing
intendants to provinces to serve as agents of the King. The appointment
symbolized the King’s presence expanding throughout the realm. The King and
Richelieu’s policies strengthened the monarchy and began to centralize the
country.
Louis XIII |
The Parlement also felt the growing power of the
monarchy threatening its influence. Since the 13th century, the Parlement served as the prime judicial body of the kingdom. Composed mostly of
professionals specifically lawyers, Kings went to the Parlement for its advice
on legality of their edicts. Overtime, the Parlement developed into an
influential and powerful institution until Richelieu and Louis intervened and
began to stifle on the body’s functions.
In 1642 Richelieu passed away then followed by King
Louis XIII in 1643. The King left France to his 4 years old son Louis XIV.
Queen Anne of Austria, the neglected wife of Louis XIII and critic of
Richelieu, maneuvered through the Parlement to attain the position of Regent
for his son. He then appointed as his chief minister another Machiavellian and
loyal counselor, the Italian-born Cardinal Jules Mazarin.
Cardinal Mazarin |
The regency ruled for the first 5 years making effort
to end the devastating Thirty Years War and achieve peace. The war driven by
religion and geopolitics sapped the might of France both militarily and
economically. Paying subsidies to allies, salaries to soldiers, and fees to mercenaries
tremendously strained the government’s finance. In 1648, the need for money brought
the monarchy clash head to head with the Parlement.
Parlement expected favors and return of their
power and influence during the time of regency. After all, their decision
placed Anne as regent. Yet the regent disappointed them and slapped them with new
charges of taxes in their position called the Paulette.
The Paulette imposed a tax for holders of position
in the Parlement. Annually renewed, it allowed the members to retain their
position and hand it over to their children in exchange for paying a tax
equivalent to the 1/6 of the position’s value. In May 1648, Mazarin attempted
to renew the tax.
Cardinal Jules Mazarin, however, had a hard time in
enacting policies. Though the Queen and King trusted him, the Parlement and
nobility loathed the foreign born Chief Minister. Like Richelieu, his desire to
strengthen the monarchy and weaken feudalism in the country, in addition being
a foreigner, garnered him many enemies.
In May 1648, Mazarin failed to renew the Paullete.
Parlement met in the Chambre Saint-Louis and submitted the so-called 27
articles. The Articles aimed to control the powers of the monarchy by demanding
the abolition of the Paulette and of the appointment of intendents. They
demanded the return of the rights of Parlement to approve and disapprove royal
edicts as well as reduction in land taxes. Finally, they demanded protection of
civil liberties by putting an end in arbitrary arrests.
Queen Anne of Austria, Louis XIV, and Philippe, Duc of Orleans |
Queen Anne and Mazarin wanted to prevent domestic
conflict that that France’s enemies, especially Spain, might exploit and
undermine French war efforts. Thus, they decided to concede with many of the
Parlement’s demands, hence they reduced taxes and recalled the Intendants.
They conceded, but they delayed to implement so as to make time for necessary
measures to take their revenge on the emboldened Parlement for their brazen
attack.
Fronde of
the Parlement
Pierre Broussel |
The victory in the Battle of Lens on August 20,
1648 brought jubilation to the French people. It gave France advantages in
negotiations with the Spain to bring the war to end. Paris celebrated, but
Mazarin plotted to silence the monarchies opponent. He had 3 members of the
Parlement, Pierre Broussel, Henri Charton, and Rene de Blancmesnil arrested
silently hoping the celebration to overshadow the act. It failed, Broussel
himself created a popular image with his famous populist slogan Pas d’impostes
– “No taxes.” Hence, their disappearance went highly noticed and the Parisians
rose up in protest.
Parisian erected more than a thousand barricades
across the city and fend off royal attacks. Supporters of Mazarin had their
windows shattered by stones thrown with a sling which in French called Fronde.
The sling, which David used to kill Goliath, inspired the members of the
Parlement to take it as their name. Hence, the Fronde of the Parlement began.
The Fronde of the Parlement or Frondeurs demanded
the removal of Mazarin, but the Queen feared for the safety of the monarchy.
Unlike the Revolution of 1789, the Fronde targeted a minister – Mazarin – whom
the people saw as a corrupt figure lingering in the side of the king whispering
lies that turned their sovereign against his people. Yet, fear lasted in the
Queen’s heart as a revolution and civil war in England brought a King in
captivity and threatened with execution.
Louis XIV (1643) |
The Royal party for the meantime bought time by
releasing the 3 Parlement members on August 28, 1648. Surrounded by hostile
Parisian mobs, the court lived in relative anxiety fearing each day for an
attack that might end with their heads on spikes or their bodies torn into
pieces. On the night of January 6, 1649, the royal court along with the young Louis
XIV fled Paris for the safety of Saint-Germain.
Louis XIV experiences for a brief moment a life of
hardship that scarred him for his life. They slept in straws - away from the
comfortable beds and heating of the royal palace. Situation seemed extremely
desperate as the Queen pawned her jewelry to purchase necessities. Their hope
of salvation laid in the French army under the command of the Prince de Conde,
who won the victory in the Battle of Lens, marching to retake the capital Paris.
Siege of Paris did came by the end of January.
French royal forces under the Prince arrived in Paris and began a siege. The
pressure of starvation and death forced the Parlement to surrender.
Ultimately, both sides agreed to a peace on April 1, 1649 signed in Rueil.
The Peace of Rueil granted concessions to the
Parlement. This included tax reduction and powers handed over to the judicial
body. Finally, they sealed the peace with a general amnesty for all Frondeurs
and rebels.
Rise of the
Prince de Conde
The Prince de Conde, a member of the Bourbon line,
in the aftermath rose further in stature in court. He led the Royalist forces
besieging the Frondeurs and he expected positions and titles for him and his allies
as a reward. This arrogance, however, threatened the power of the monarchy and
Mazarin’s.
The Prince de Conde desired to elevate many of his
client nobles which include Gaston of Orleans, the Duke of Logueville, and his
own brother the Prince de Conti. The Prince also loathed Mazarin and ambitioned
to topple the Cardinal down. He also embodied the privileges of the feudal
system. As a Prince, he wished to keep much of his privileges and that of his
allies. As a result, another confrontation between the feudalistic Prince and
centralist cardinal seemed inevitable.
The Great Conde, as he was called, grew in
arrogance in court and the Cardinal made his move to put an end to it. On
January 18, 1850, the Prince of Conde, along with the Prince of Conti and the
Duke of Longueville found themselves under arrest by Mazarin. The arrest
sparked a chain of betrayal and allegiances that made the Fronde of Princes
into a French 16th century Game of Thrones.
Fronde of
the Princes
The Conde’s allies rose up in revolt as news of his
arrest spread. Madame de Chevreuse and the Princess of Conde raise cries of
rebellion in Normandy, Burgandy, and Bordeaux. Marshal Turenne led army of
nobility and began to receive support from Spain. France once against descended
into civil war.
The alliances during the Fronde of the Princes
switched as quickly as they forged. Nobility, bourgeoisie, clerics, and
peasants had their own vested interests. Enemies of France like the Holy Roman
Empire and Spain did exploited the situation and supported factions in the
Fronde. Sometimes, many of this interests clashed and each wanted to curtail
the power of each other. Hence, a faction switched sides as soon as they felt
their objective met or their ally grew to become a threat.
Royal forces, eventually overcame the challenges.
On December 15, 1650, royalist forces under Marshal du Plessis-Praslin (later
Duke of Choiseul) won in the Battle of Rethel against the rebel forces of
Marshal Turenne. Revolts in Normandy and Burgundy subsided and eventually dealt
with. By February 1651, most of the revolts had been quelled.
Jean François Paul de Gondi |
Talks of peace began in February 1651. However,
tensions began to flare up once more when Jean Francois Paul de Gondi once more
agitated against the Mazarin government. Gondi had been among the most vocal
critics of Mazarin during the Fronde of the Parlement. However, promises of a
position of Cardinals bought his silence and remained so during the Fronde of
the Princes. However, when the promise of Cardinalship remained words, he
switched sides. He called for the release of the Prince de Conde and dismissal
of Mazarin.
The Fronde of the Princes appeared to have ended
when the Prince de Conde came out of prison. Better for the Prince’s allies and
the Parlement, Mazarin went into exile to Cologne.
The Great Conde, however, continued to fight
against the government. For months, revolts continued. Situation changed,
however, on September 7, 1651. On that day, King Louis XIV came of age and the
regency dissolved. Thus, the narrative of fighting for the King and his liberation
from a corrupt and foreign regency loss steam. Frondeurs, nobles, and rebel
factions began to defect. This included Marshal Turenne who led the Frodeurs
force in the Battle of Rethel.
The Conde, however, continued to fight. By the end
of September, he took control of Bordeux and accepted assistance from Spain and
English Commonwealth of Oliver Cromwell proposing the establishment of
Commonwealth of France – a blatant act of treason.
Mazarin returned to France in 1652 at a head of a
small force of mercenaries and to link up with the royalist. The return of
Mazarin infuriated once again the Parlement who rose up in revolt again. They
declared Mazarin a criminal and offered a reward for his head.
An anti-Mazarin Cartoon Despite Mazarin, the frondeurs assure the safety of the state. |
Nobles also joined the fray. Revolts once again
brought the country into internal strife. From February to March 1652, rebel
forces won in the Battle of Guyenne. Their Spanish and Holy Roman Imperial
allies advance in Northern France. Archduke Leopold William pushed from
Flanders with the assistance of Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine.
The Battle of Bleneau of April 7, 1652 resulted to
a defeat for Royalist forces. Royalist army under the command of former
Frondeur Marshal Turenne face off against Prince de Conde’s. The defeat exposed
the position of the King who settled in the nearby Gien. Conde marched to the
town with the objective of capturing the King and ending the civil war and
Mazarin once and for all. Turenne, however, mustered as many men as he can to
prevent this. Luck went to Turenne who successfully rescued the King into
safety from the Prince of Conde. De Conde loss an opportunity that could have
change French history. The Conde, after his botched attempt to capture the
King, took Paris instead.
With the King safe, Royalist attempted to recapture
Paris. However, in the Battle of Faubourg Saint Antoine on July 2, 1652, they
failed to capture the city.
The Parlement, the Prince, and other nobles
continued to hold the city with the Hotel de Ville as their headquarters. Their
alliance, however, marred by diverse interest, sometimes against each other.
The arrogance of the Prince of Conde antagonized many nobles and Parlement
members. The alliance further fractured when on August 1652, with the hope of
ending the Fronde, Mazarin once again agreed to leave the country. Gradually,
many defected and offered their loyalty to King Louis XIV.
On October 13, 1652, Prince de Conde fled Paris and
sought refuge in the Spanish Netherlands. On October 21, 1652, Louis XIV
returned to Paris in triumph. He offered pardon to rebels as a form of
reconciliation and unite the Kingdom once again. With the King ruling the
country firmly, no major revolt of the Parlement or nobility hindered the
return of Cardinal Mazarin to Paris on February 3, 1653.
Aftermath
The King consolidated his power in the aftermath of
the Fronde. In 1654, Parlement declared the Prince de Conde a traitor and
sentenced him to death. Nobles opposed to the centralization of power to the
monarchy also went into exile, leaving Louis without any challenger of his
power. Louis, on the other, moved to weaken the Parlement as an influential
and powerful body by forbidding their meeting without his consent and gradually
weakened their authority in state affairs.
In 1661, Mazarin passed away. Louis took the bold
step to abolish the position of chief minister and to solely rule France. With
the Parlement weak and noble degraded into impotency, absolutist monarchy
reigned over France for more than a century.
See also:
Bibliography:
Website:
"Fronde." Encyclopedia.com. Accessed May 11, 2019. URL: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/modern-europe/french-history/fronde
The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. "The Fronde." Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed on May 11, 2019. URL: https://www.britannica.com/event/The-Fronde
Books:
Durant, Will & Ariel. The Age of Louis XIV, A History of European Civilization in the Period of Pascal, Moliere, Cromwell, Milton, Peter the Great, Newton, and Spinoza: 1648 -1715. New York, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1963.
Voltaire. Translated by Martin Pollack. The Age of King Louis XIV. London: J.M. Dent & Sons, Ltd., 1922.
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