Baptismal certificate, 1638
Louis XIV, then Dauphin of France,
in 1642, one year before his
accession to the throne, by Philippe
de Champaigne
Louis XIV in 1643, by Claude Deruet
Europe after the Peace of
Westphalia in 1648
The Queen sought a lasting peace between Catholic nations, but only after a French victory over
her native Spain. She also gave a partial Catholic orientation to French foreign policy. This was
felt by the Netherlands, France's Protestant ally, which negotiated a separate peace with Spain in
1648.[18]
In 1648, Anne and Mazarin successfully negotiated the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the
Thirty Years' War.[19] Its terms ensured Dutch independence from Spain, awarded some autonomy
to the various German princes of the Holy Roman Empire, and granted Sweden seats on the
Imperial Diet and territories controlling the mouths of the Oder, Elbe, and Weser Rivers.[20]
France, however, profited most from the settlement. Austria, ruled by the Habsburg Emperor
Ferdinand III, ceded all Habsburg lands and claims in Alsace to France and acknowledged her de
facto sovereignty over the Three Bishoprics of Metz, Verdun, and Toul.[21] Moreover,
many petty German states sought French protection, eager to emancipate themselves from
Habsburg domination. This anticipated the formation of the 1658 League of the Rhine,
which further diminished Imperial power.
As the Thirty Years' War came to an end, a civil war known as the Fronde erupted in
France. It effectively checked France's ability to exploit the Peace of Westphalia. Anne and
Mazarin had largely pursued the policies of Cardinal Richelieu, augmenting the Crown's
power at the expense of the nobility and the Parlements. Anne was more concerned with
internal policy than foreign affairs; she was a very proud queen who insisted on the divine
rights of the King of France.[22]
All this led her to advocate a forceful policy in all matters relating to the King's authority,
in a manner that was much more radical than the one proposed by Mazarin. The Cardinal
depended totally on Anne's support and had to use all his influence on the Queen to temper
some of her radical actions. Anne imprisoned any aristocrat or member of parliament who
challenged her will; her main aim was to transfer to her son an absolute authority in the
matters of finance and justice. One of the leaders of the Parlement of Paris, whom she had
jailed, died in prison.[23]
The Frondeurs, political heirs of the disaffected feudal aristocracy, sought to protect their
traditional feudal privileges from the increasingly centralized royal government.
Furthermore, they believed their traditional influence and authority was being usurped by
the recently ennobled bureaucrats (the Noblesse de Robe, or "nobility of the robe"), who
administered the kingdom and on whom the monarchy increasingly began to rely. This
belief intensified the nobles' resentment.
In 1648, Anne and Mazarin attempted to tax members of the Parlement de Paris. The
members refused to comply and ordered all of the king's earlier financial edicts burned.
Buoyed by the victory of Louis, duc d'Enghien (later known as le Grand Condé) at the
Battle of Lens, Mazarin, on Queen Anne's insistence, arrested certain members in a show
of force.[24] The most important arrest, from Anne's point of view, concerned Pierre
Broussel, one of the most important leaders in the Parlement de Paris.
People in France were complaining about the expansion of royal authority, the high rate of
taxation, and the reduction of the authority of the Parlement de Paris and other regional
representative entities. Paris erupted in rioting as a result, and Anne was forced, under
intense pressure, to free Broussel. Moreover, on the night of 9–10 February 1651, when
Louis was twelve, a mob of angry Parisians broke into the royal palace and demanded to
see their king. Led into the royal bed-chamber, they gazed upon Louis, who was feigning