Mazarin: The Crisis of Absolutism in France

Abstract

Mazarin: The Crisis of Absolutism in France. By Geoffrey Treasure. (New York: Routledge.1995. Pp. xv,413. $39.95 clothbound; $22.95 paperback.) The period from the death of Louis XIII in 1643 to the beginning of the personal reign of Louis XIV in 1661 was one of the most tumultuous and complex in French history. It was as well the "age of Mazarin," the cardinal-minister who merged Italianate style with French statecraft, who increased French glory and reputation at the expense of revolts, social tension, and economic dislocation, and who has provoked passionate reactions from contemporaries and historians alike. The difficulties in understanding Mazarin's life and times mean that only accomplished historians-recently Georges Dethan and Pierre Goubert and now Geoffrey Treasure-could hope to offer satisfactory biographies of Giulio Mazarini. Treasure's mastery of seventeenth-century France, seen in earlier books, is evident in this rehabilitation of Mazarin, a man Treasure obviously admires but not to the extent of ignoring the first minister's shortcomings. For Treasure, Mazarin's greatness lies in his accomplishments, notably his success in diplomacy and his training of Louis XIV Diplomacy was his metier, beginning in Rome in the service of Pope Urban VIII and ending with the marriage of Louis XIV to Maria Teresa, Infanta of Spain. Mazarin's close attention to foreign affairs (he was his own foreign minister) centered on the Thirty Years' War and on Spain, France's great, but declining rival. Even during the worst days of the Fronde, Mazarin doggedly pursued his goals: defensible frontiers and a political hegemony to match French cultural and linguistic influence. His achievements include, of course, the Peace of Westphalia and the Peace of the Pyrenees. In increasing French territory and security, Mazarin followed closely the policies of Richelieu, who had recognized the papal diplomat's talents. Treasure sees Mazarin and Louis XIV as heirs to Richelieu's absolutism, although the Sun King proved to be more aggressive in foreign policy than the two cardinalministers. Treasure might have addressed the nature of absolutism, especially in light of the historiographical baggage that the term holds. Mazarin left to France not only political security, but also his magnificent library and paintings. Here was seen Italy's influence on France, for although Mazarin devoted himself-at the cost of his health-to the French monarchy, he remained Roman in his aesthetic sense, in his love of books, art, and music, to which one might add his sense of courtesy Motivated by personal ambition and by devotion to his casa (he gave support to his sisters and nieces) as well as by loyalty to France, to Anne of Austria, and to Louis XIV Mazarin fit easily into behavior and attitudes common to early modern elites. …