Mazarin: The Crisis of Absolutism in France

Front Cover
When Mazarin became First Minister of France in 1643 he inherited a costly war. Ruinously high taxation, arbitrary and oppressive measures of government and opposition at every level threatened the stability of the state. The king was five years old and a long minority was in prospect. It was a time of crisis. Eighteen years later Mazarin died in office, having survived the successive revolts and civil wars known as the Fronde. His reputation was at its peak, as was the prestige of France, his adopted country. Mazarin's character, however, has been so vilified during the previous, turbulent years that in the popular perception he was a charlatan, a mean-spirited but greedy trifler and an adventurer. Geoffrey Treasure argues that Mazarin was in fact a remarkable statesman, subtle, courageous and incredibly hard-working: a man who inspired devotion and respect among those closest to him, above all the king who would benefit by his tutelage in government.
 

Contents

THE YOUNG ROMAN
3
THE POLITICS OF ROME
9
CRISIS AND OPPORTUNITY
15
EARLY FAME
22
NUNCIO EXTRAORDINARY
30
French Service
45
ANNE QUEEN MOTHER AND REGENT
56
POVERTY AND DISORDER
68
THE FIRST EXILE
171
MAZARIN RETURNS
186
THE DEFEAT OF CONDÉ
195
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
202
THE FRONDE CONSIDERED
216
War and Peace
231
THE LONG HAUL
239
GERMAN APPROACHES
245

PUBLIC FINANCE PRIVATE ENTERPRISE
80
PREMIER MINISTRE
88
The Fronde
101
THE GATHERING STORM
109
THE CHAMBRE ST LOUIS
117
THE DECLARATION OF SAINTGERMAIN
125
THE FIRST CIVIL WAR
136
DIVIDE AND RULE
149
THE WAR OF THE PRINCESSES
157
PEACE WITH SPAIN
254
ARBITER OF PEACE
261
Money Matters
267
THE GREATEST PRIVATE FORTUNE
275
Conscience and Policy
283
THE CHALLENGE OF PORT ROYAL
292
THE LAST YEAR
301
A CHRISTIAN DEATH
307
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