Rethinking 1652

The first section of the chapter offers an overview of the historiography of the Fronde, looking at the evolution of different interpretations and emphases from the eighteenth century to the present day. The contribution of 1652 to this debate is summarized: the study looks as much at the consequences of the 1652 crisis as at its origins, above all its impact on the ensuing decade of Mazarin’s ministry; it emphasizes the role of contingency in what has frequently been seen as a pre-determined triumph of monarchical authority; it explores the collision of civil war waged across much of France with a dramatic worsening of climatic conditions and the impact of both on a vulnerable subsistence economy. The second half of the chapter examines the nature of ministerial government in France through Richelieu’s ministry, as well as Mazarin’s emergence as first minister during the regency which followed the death of Louis XIII in 1643, and looks at the unfolding of the Fronde down to the end of 1649. It explores in particular the close links between the burdens of foreign and military policy and the development of a ministerial ‘extraordinary regime’ which bypassed or overruled much of the existing government to give extensive, and in the eyes of many illegitimate, authority to the cardinal ministers. The chapter culminates in the miscalculations made by Mazarin which precipitated the opening rebellion of the Fronde. In order to bring the frondeurs back into obedience, Mazarin was forced to rely on the prince de Condé, who blockaded Paris with the royal army on behalf of the crown.