Cardinal Mazarin facts for kids

His Eminence Cardinal Mazarin
Portrait of Jules Mazarin by Pierre Mignard (1658)
First Minister of State
In office 4 December 1642 – 9 March 1661
Monarch	Louis XIII Queen Anne (regent) Louis XIV
Preceded by	The Duke of Richelieu
Succeeded by	Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Personal details
Born	Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino (1602-07-14)14 July 1602 Pescina, Abruzzo Ultra, Kingdom of Naples
Died	9 March 1661(1661-03-09) (aged 58) Vincennes, Île-de-France, France
Alma mater	Roman College
Profession	Clergyman, statesman
Cardinal, Bishop of Metz Metropolis Immediately Subject to the Holy See Diocese Metz See Metz Predecessor Henri de Bourbon Successor Franz Egon of Fürstenberg Orders Created Cardinal 16 December 1641 Personal details Denomination Roman Catholic Motto Firmando firmior hæret Hinc ordo, hinc copia rerum Signature

Cardinal Jules Mazarin; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician, who served as the chief minister to the kings of France Louis XIII and Louis XIV from 1642 until his death. In 1654 he acquired the title Duke of Mayenne, and in 1659, 1st Duke of Rethel and Nevers.

After serving as a papal diplomat for Pope Urban VIII, Mazarin offered his diplomatic services to Cardinal Richelieu and moved to Paris in 1640. Following the death of Richelieu, Mazarin took his place as first minister, and after that of Louis XIII in 1643, Mazarin acted as the head of the government for Anne of Austria, the regent for the young Louis XIV, and was also made responsible for the king's education until he came of age.

The first years of Mazarin in office were marked by military victories in the Thirty Years' War, which he used to make France the main European power and establish the Peace of Westphalia (1646–48). A major uprising against Anne of Austria and Mazarin, called the Fronde and led by the nobles of the Parliament of Paris, broke out in Paris in 1648, followed by a second Fronde led by Louis, Grand Condé, who turned from his chief ally to his chief enemy. Mazarin took Anne of Austria and Louis XIV out of Paris, and then shifted his base to Germany for a time. Turenne, a general loyal to Louis XIV and Mazarin, defeated Condé, and Mazarin made a triumphal return to Paris in 1653.

The last years of Mazarin's life, between 1657 and his death in 1661, were marked by a series of major diplomatic victories, In 1657 he made a military alliance with England. In 1658 he unveiled the League of the Rhine, a new group of fifty small German principalities which were now linked by a treaty with France. In the same month, Marshal Turenne decisively defeated the army of Condé at the Battle of the Dunes in Flanders. Between February and June 1659, Mazarin conducted intensive negotiations with the Spanish. On 7 November 1659 Spain signed the Treaty of the Pyrenees, which added Artois, the Cerdagne and Roussillon as new provinces of France. This was followed in June 1660 by an even more important diplomatic event carefully arranged by Mazarin; the marriage of Louis XIV with Maria Theresa of Spain. The marriage took place in Saint-Jean-de-Luz in Spain, close to the French border. The couple made a triumphant entry into Paris on 26 August 1660. This marriage and accompanying agreements ended, at least for a time, the long and costly wars between the Hapsburgs and France. Exhausted by his diplomatic efforts, Mazarin died on 9 March 1661.

Mazarin, as the actual (de facto) ruler of France, played a crucial role in establishing the Westphalian principles that would guide European states' foreign policy and the prevailing world order. Some of these principles, such as the nation state's sovereignty over its territory and domestic affairs and the legal equality among states, remain the basis of international law to this day.

In addition to his diplomacy, Mazarin was an important patron of the arts. He introduced Italian opera on a grand scale to Paris, and assembled a remarkable art collection, much of which today can be seen in the Louvre. He also founded the Bibliothèque Mazarine, the first true public library in France, which is now found in the Institut de France, across the Seine from the Louvre.

Images for kids

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  Mazarin carrying the peace agreement to the armies at Casal, crying "Peace! Peace!" (18th century engraving)

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  Mazarin as a papal envoy in Paris (1632)

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  Anne of Austria with her children Louis XIV of France and Philippe, Duke of Orléans (unknown artist)

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  An anti-Mazarin cartoon from the Fronde (about 1650). The caption reads, "Despite Mazarin, the frondeurs assure the safety of the state."

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  Louis the Prince de Condé, leader of the second Fronde

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  Battle between the Fronde forces of the Prince de Conde and the army loyal to Anne of Austria and Mazarin

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  Nicolas Fouquet, the Superintendent of Finances

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  The Wedding of Louis XIV with Marie-Therese of Austria. Mazarin is at their right.

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  Tomb of Mazarin in the Institut de France

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  Mazarin seated within the Gallery of his Palace (1659)

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  Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione, by Raphael, purchased by Mazarin from Richelieu

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  Torelli's set design for Act 5 of Pierre Corneille's Andromède as performed at the Petit-Bourbon in 1650

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  Carved coat of arms of Mazarin on a bookcase in the Bibliothèque Mazarine in Paris

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  Marie Mancini, whom Louis XIV wished to marry

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  Olympe Mancini, by Pierre Mignard

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  Marie-Anne Mancini,who became Duchess of Bouillon.

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  Hortense Mancini, Duchess Mazarin.

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  Laura Martinozzi, Duchess of Modena