THE PARLEMENTARY FRONDE 1648 - 1649 (C1)

Following the death of Cardinal Richelieu in 1642, Cardinal Mazarin became the chief minister in France. By the end of the Thirty Years’ War in 1648 the country was faced with spiralling taxes and acute food shortages. The parlement in Paris called for reforms, but Mazarin took a firm line and arrested two of the ring leaders. This sparked off the first Fronde rebellion, based in Paris but with rumblings of discontent in the provinces. Nobility, bourgeoisie and workers took to the streets, protesting against heavy taxes and the absolute rule of the monarch. Eventually the regent for Louis XIV, Queen Anne of Austria, agreed to concessions, but the peace was short lived. As we shall see, in 1650 there was a second Fronde uprising, this time led by dissident nobles in the south who were anxious to reduce the Crown’s grip on government. Known as the Princely Fronde, it was ruthlessly crushed, as we shall see, by 1653 (CW).

CHARLES I 1625 - 1649 (C1) Life 1600 - 1649

Chapter 3 A Long Good Bye to the Palais Royal: The Northern Pictures in the Orléans Collection in: Revolutionary Paris and the Market for Netherlandish Art