The Fronde To Modern Day C E

Running Head: THE FRONDE TO MODERN DAY C. E 1

The Fronde to modern day C. E

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THE FRONDE TO MODERN DAY C. E 2

A series of civil wars ran through France between 1648 and 1653. These wars came to be

known as The Fronde (which is French means a sling) and they happened after the death of

Louis XIV father and the young boy was designated to take over the throne when he came of

age. The first war is known as The Fronde of Parlement which ran between 1648 to 1649 while

the second phase known as Fronde of the Princes happened between January 1650 – September

1653. This paper will analyze the first phase of the civil war – that is - Fronde of Parlement

including its causes, major battles, treaty(s) and finally the results. There were three major

causes which led to the first fronde

. First, Parlement of Paris was trying to limit King Louis’

XIV power. Cardinal de Richelieu had weakened the influence of the nobles while at the same

time power of the judicial body known as Parlements was reduced. From 1643, privileged

groups in Paris opposed such moves by the Kings mother and her advisor. Secondly, the nobility

felt threatened by the king and wanted a bigger representation in the government where they felt

their voices were not being heard or were not well represented. The third cause is the tax which

burdened the people especially under Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin.

Towards the birth of Louis XIV during the Thirty Years’ War, France has suffered so

much in terms of finances and its treasury was depleting very fast

. Still during the same

periods, France was divided into Three Estates – the first being the clergy, then the nobles and

lastly those who did not belong in either of the estates – the population. The clergy and the

nobles were in constant wrangles but when it came to stopping the third force, they came

together! This however did not deter the third estate and it was growing in leaps and bounds to

Ranum, Orest. The Fronde: A French Revolution, 1648-1652 (Revolutions in the Modern World) (n.p.)2003

Doolin, Rice. The Fronde. Harvard University Press, Oxford University Press. 2005

THE FRONDE TO MODERN DAY C. E 3

the detriment of the other two estates. With improved modes of sea travel and trade across

Europe, the third force became a force to reckon with and the birth of middle class. They had a

lot of money which they extended as loans to the nobility and even kings, to finance their war

missions. This led to their quest for power which Mazarin was not objected to. Nobility on the

other hand flet shortchanged as they believed power was their reserve! The middle and lower

classes also joined the fray of struggle and spilled into the streets to oppose the tax rates

The Fronde of Parlement was triggered when Anne of Austria and mother to Louis XIV's

mother with her advisor Cardinal Mazarin sought to introduce a proposal of raising money as

backup for the Thirty Years' War. “The war, which in the 1620s had been fought principally by

German states with foreign assistance, now became a struggle among the great powers (Sweden,

France, Spain, and Austria) fought largely on German soil, and for twelve more years armies

maneuvered while garrisons-over five hundred in all-carried out a “dirty war” designed both to

support themselves and to destroy anything of possible use to the enemy. Atrocities (such as

those recorded in the novel Simplicissimus by Hans von Grimmelshausen) abounded as troops

struggled to locate and appropriate resources. Eventually, France’s victory over the Spaniards at

Rocroi (1643) and Sweden’s defeat of the Imperialists at Jankau (1645) forced the Hapsburgs to

make concessions that led, in 1648, to the Peace of Westphalia, which settled most of the

outstanding issues”.

To counter the treasury deficit that France was experiencing, government officials were

required to give up their four year’s salary for this cause. Other than this, Mazarin also

introduced other forms of raising money which included the sale of government offices, rise in

Bannister, Mark. "The Mediatization of Politics during the Fronde: Condé’s Bureau de Presse."

THE FRONDE TO MODERN DAY C. E 4

taxes as well as creditors being forced to make loans to the government. This unjustified and

unfair plan was vehemently rejected by both Parlement and the Courts. The Paris Parlement’s

vast size as well as its proximity and interaction with the kingdom had more power and influence

as compared to other parlements in say Great Britain or United States. The power they

possessed allowed them to check the royalty. It had been mandated with the task of going

through royal edicts and laws before being passed and adopted. Instead, both institutions went

ahead to draft a different plan which limited the power of the royal authority. This led to the

arrest of opposition leaders in parlement under the instructions of Anne of Austria and her

advisor Cardinal Mazarin. Protests soon spread to the streets of Paris and the masses went ahead

to barricade the street until the pressure bore fruit and the arrested leaders were soon released.

With Peace of Westphalia (also known as the Treaty of Münster) marking the end Thirty Years'

War in 1948, suppression of the fronde was inevitable, what with the available royal troops! The

streets of Paris were now under the command of the royal army and the royalists who comprised

of King Louis XIV, Anne of Austria, and Cardinal Mazarin had no option but to flee the country

albeit in secret! On 11

March, 1649, the feuding parties - the parlement and the royal family

came, made peace by signing what was known as “the Peace of Rueil”. This peace deal brought

to an end the hostility between the warring parties to the extent that trade avenues which had

been rendered closed opened for all to participate in trade. All rebels were granted amnesty

through this peace deal

Doolin, Rice. The Fronde. Harvard University Press, Oxford University Press. 2005

THE FRONDE TO MODERN DAY C. E 5

The treaty (Westphalia) saw the independence of many states including Austria gaining

her independence from Switzerland and Netherlands from Spain. Germany and Sweden were

also affected by the treaty and France was able to acquire Alsace-Lorraine. The treaty also saw

the European states including the Roman Empire, named after the Peace of Westphalia, signed in

1648, which ended the Thirty Years' War, in which the major continental European states – the

Holy Roman Empire, Spain, France, Sweden and the Dutch Republic – agreed to respect one

another's territorial integrity. The dream of the Roman Catholic to again conquer Europe was

diminished or even killed because Protestantism had taken root. As Encyclopedia Brittanica has

detailed “The United Netherlands was recognized as an independent republic. The member states

of the Holy Roman Empire were granted full sovereignty. The ancient notion of a Roman

Catholic empire of Europe, headed spiritually by a pope and temporally by an emperor, was

permanently abandoned, and the essential structure of modern Europe as a community of

sovereign states was established” (Encyclopedia Brittanica, 2014)

. After signing the Peace of

Rueil, sanity was brought back to the street of Paris. However, these effects did not spread to the

rest of the kingdom since many provinces still experienced chaos. An example would be the

case of a civil war between Parlement and the Governor in the city of Provence. Troops rose to

war, causing death and mayhem in their quest for justice. Arrests were made and the Governor

d’Alais taken to custody

. In other parts of the kingdom, where chaos had settled, tension still

reigned high and the king’s council was majorly affected. Among the consequences of Fronde,

government was forced to compromise with other institutions which were exempted from paying

tax. The French economy was greatly affected and it would take many years to recover from the

Doolin, Rice. The Fronde. Harvard University Press, Oxford University Press. 2005

THE FRONDE TO MODERN DAY C. E 6

effects of the Fronde. This rebellion was traumatized Louis XIV to a great extent keeping in

mind that these events happened when he was just a little boy. He felt terrified by the events and

the humiliation stuck to his mind. Poverty, fear, hunger, cold and misfortune are results of how

Fronde Parlement of the young king. However, when he finally took office, these trials had

sharpened his thought and character in carrying out his duties as King. Forgiveness over Paris,

nobility or common people did not fit in his vocabulary!

The fighting against each other between the Frondeurs continued until 1652 when

Mazarin again fled France due to the pressure that he felt. In October, 1652, Louis XIV returned

to Paris, France followed by Mazarin the following year. This marked the end of Fronde. On

rising to power, the King’s trust for nobility had totally been smashed and he chose to rule as an

absolute monarchy. The experiences of fear during the Fronde made him build a palace at

Versailles where he ruled from

The Fronde civil wars brought out a clear manifestation of how political temperatures

were so high and mostly against monarchy. The Fronde Parliement today raises the question of

the relationship between power and society. When a ruler comes up with laws which are unjust

and unfair, it is only the people who can rise against such authority and oppose such laws. The

public is seen to hold power and influence over authority to an extent of engaging or forcing

their views upon the authority. In other words, public opinion matters. Revolutions throughout

history have mostly been driven by poor economic conditions. Where the cost of living has risen

to the point where citizens find it difficult to feed, house, clothe or educate their families, such

Shapiro, Stephen A. "The Romance of the Fronde: The Siege of Orleans in the Mémoires of Mademoiselle de

Montpensier." Romance Studies 28, no. 1 (2010): 17-26.

THE FRONDE TO MODERN DAY C. E 7

revolts are prone to occur. It is therefore important for the people in authority to pass laws which

do not tend to come as financial burdens on its citizens.

In conclusion, it is worth to note that since both phases of the Fronde were mostly driven

by the dislike for the Kingdom’s adviser, - Mazarin, this did not pose any grievous threat to the

kingdom’s existence. The policies that he imposed on the citizens of Paris, made the royal

authority look bad in the eyes of its citizens. This is because the animosity was directed to

Mazarin and not the King. But the experiences through the two phases of the Fronde were also

of beneficial input to Louis XIV.

THE FRONDE TO MODERN DAY C. E 8

References

Ranum, Orest. The Fronde: A French Revolution, 1648-1652 (Revolutions in the Modern World)

(n.p.)2003

Doolin, Rice. The Fronde. Harvard University Press, Oxford University Press. 2005

Shapiro, Stephen A. "The Romance of the Fronde: The Siege of Orleans in the Mémoires of

Mademoiselle de Montpensier." Romance Studies 28, no. 1 (2010): 17-26.

Bannister, Mark. "The Mediatization of Politics during the Fronde: Condé’s Bureau de Presse."

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