The Fronde: Civil Unrest in 17th-Century France
The Fronde: Civil Unrest in 17th-Century France
1. Introduction
The Fronde, a series of revolutionary movements, occurred in France during the regency of Anne of Austria and the minority of Louis XIV (1648-1653). It was the last significant uprising against the French monarchy by the nobility and was followed by the Franco-Spanish War of 1653-1659. The Fronde can be divided into two distinct phases:
- The Parliamentary Fronde, or “Old Fronde,” marked the beginning of the conflict.
- The Fronde of the Princes, which continued and expanded upon the initial rebellion, ultimately failed due to internal conflicts, shifting alliances, and strategic errors.
2. Early Tensions Between the Monarchy and Parliament (1642)
Following the death of Cardinal Richelieu, a key figure in French politics during the reign of Louis XIII who had significantly centralized royal power, the French aristocracy, particularly the parliamentarians of Paris, began to plot against Cardinal Mazarin. Mazarin, the new Prime Minister and protégé of the regent Anne of Austria, sought to continue the costly war against Habsburg Spain. To finance the war, he increased taxes, which, according to B. Porshnev in Popular Uprisings in France in the Seventeenth Century, sometimes led to the killing of tax collectors. This tax increase, a primary cause of discontent among the parliaments of towns across all provinces, led members of Parliament to protest against the government of Mazarin and Anne of Austria, especially in Paris, where residents were forced to pay new taxes. Furthermore, Mazarin appointed new officials while simultaneously renewing the Paulette, a law from earlier in the century that allowed for the hereditary transmission of certain offices.
In response to Mazarin’s attempts to control the parliamentary session, Parliament issued the “arrêt d’union” on May 13, uniting the courts into a single assembly that would convene in the Chambre Saint-Louis of the Palais de Justice. The judges drafted a list of 27 articles, known as the Parliament Act of Union, demanding the recall of the intendants, the mandatory submission of tax increases to court approval, and a guarantee of individual freedoms.
Initially, the regent agreed to all the demands. However, after the Prince de Condé’s victory at Lens on August 20, Mazarin saw an opportunity to strike. On August 26, he arrested the leaders of the Chambre Saint-Louis, including the popular elder President Broussel. These arrests sparked outrage and revolt in Paris, leading to the Day of the Barricades. In the countryside, the famine of those years, combined with heavy taxation and the general decline of the French economy, created a revolutionary atmosphere among the peasantry. That same month, Broussel was released, and in October, Mazarin was forced to accept the Parliament Act of Union.
3. The Decline and End of the Fronde: The Mazarinades
Following the flight of Cardinal Mazarin, Anne of Austria, and the Great Condé from Paris, the Parlement of Paris decided to take control of the government and established an urban militia to defend the city. This period became known as the Mazarinades. In response, the Great Condé’s army besieged Paris.
Meanwhile, divisions began to emerge within the bourgeois parliamentary ranks as popular unrest grew increasingly difficult to control. Ultimately, the parliamentarians agreed to the return of Mazarin and the regent after the acceptance of an agreement that prevented further meetings with the sovereign courts.
However, the subsequent power struggle between Mazarin and the Great Condé, along with the latter’s defeat, led the so-called “Princes” to join forces with Parliament in their efforts to remove Mazarin.
In December 1650, Parliament demanded the release of the Princes and the dismissal of Mazarin, who attempted to flee to Saint-Germain-en-Laye on February 6. During the night of February 8-9, the bourgeois militia closed the gates of Paris, determined to ensure that the King was not planning to leave. A frightened Anne of Austria was forced to keep the King under surveillance. On February 10, the Princes were released, and on February 17, Parliament opened a trial against Mazarin.
In the following months, informal meetings of parliamentarians were held in Paris. The nobility called for the intervention of the Estates-General, envisioning a mixed monarchy where the aristocracy would play a significant role. This proposal, however, failed to gain widespread support, and the leaders of the new Fronde were divided by internal conflicts. Condé refused to be proclaimed regent, while the clergy, incited by Gondi, opposed Parliament. On September 7, 1651, Louis XIV reached his majority.
Finally, seeing the disunity among the Frondeurs and the impossibility of defeating Mazarin’s supporters, the Great Condé chose to go into exile in the Netherlands. The end of the Fronde uprisings resulted in the strengthening of the monarchy and the consolidation of Mazarin’s position as head of government.
References
- Molas, P., Bada, J., Escartin, E., Sanchez Marcos, F., Gual, M. A., & Martinez, V. Manual of Modern History. Ariel Ed. Barcelona, 2000.
- Porshnev, B. The Popular Uprisings in France in the Seventeenth Century. Ed. Siglo XXI de España. Madrid, 1978.
- Perez Zagorin. Revolts and Revolutions in the Modern Age, 2 vols. Cátedra Ed. Madrid, 1985 and 1986.