Cardinal Mazarin

Jules Raymond Mazarin (born Giulio Raimondo Mazarini or Mazzarini or Mazarino), better known as the Cardinal Mazarin (July 14, 1602, Pescina, Abruzzo - March 9, 1661, Vincennes) was a skilful Italian diplomat, cardinal, and politician, first at the service of the Pope and later at the service of the kingdom. from France. He was Cardinal Richelieu's successor as Prime Minister.

Mazarin, who was not a priest, obtained the appointment of cardinal at the proposal of King Louis XIII, for services rendered to the monarchy.

Beginnings

Mazarin was born on July 14, 1602 in the Abbey of Pescina (at the time of Spanish possession), in Abruzzo, eastern Italy. His mother, Hortensia Bufalini, belonged to a noble family from Città di Castello, in Umbria. His father, Pietro Mazzarini, of Sicilian origin, was in the service of the powerful Roman Colonna family. The couple had six children, four girls and two boys, of whom Julio was the eldest. His younger brother, Miguel, he was ordained a priest and eventually became Bishop of Aix.

Studies

Despite being born in Pescina, he soon moved to Rome, where he received his education. Mazarin trained with the Jesuits at the Roman College, where he was sent at the age of seven, and he proved to be a brilliant and a charming young man for his teachers and classmates.

When he finished his studies, when he was about sixteen years old, a dissipated period began, for which his parents, thanks to the patronage of the Colonnas again, sent him to study canon law in Spain, at the University of Alcalá de Henares. During During his three-year stay in the Iberian Peninsula, he learned Spanish perfectly, a skill that would later be of great use to him. Still a libertine, he fell in love with a Spanish woman and, about to get married, was tricked into returning to Italy to avoid the wedding by his fellow student Girolamo Colonna, son of his patron the Constable of Naples. Back in Italy he completed his studies.

Military

The military administration of Valtellina was awarded to the pope, he recruited an army to occupy the region and Mazarin was appointed captain of the newly formed troops, passing through the garrisons of Loreto and Ancona. Having managed to get appointed to a position of Assistant to the General of the Papal Army, he soon became essential in dealings with the French and Spanish, traveling throughout northern Italy on liaison missions and as a negotiator between the parties interested in controlling the region.

After the papal troops withdrew after the Treaty of Monzón in 1626, Mazarin went to Ferrara, from where he often traveled to Rome as envoy of his superior to inform the court and where he came into contact with Cardinal Bentivoglio, representative of the French interests in the city. Winning his favor, Bentivoglio recommended him to the cardinal minister, Francisco Barberini, who sent him as secretary of the pontifical legation in Lombardy.

Papal negotiator

Confined to northern Italy by the intrigues of the Duke of Savoy, Carlos Manuel I, and the Franco-Spanish rivalry, Mazarin was instructed by the pope to favor France to counter Spanish dominance, but not so much as to substitute for a preponderance on the other. Mazarin, characteristically attending to the interests of his employer but also to his own, showed marked sympathy towards France, while maintaining the trust of all parties. This allowed him to obtain relevant information that he sent promptly. to Rome.

When the Duke of Savoy learned of the imminent French invasion of the Italian peninsula, he sent Mazarin to try to arrest Cardinal Richelieu. Mazarin arrived in Lyon on January 28, 1630, meeting with Richelieu the following day. His short stay failed in his goal of stopping the French advance, but it was of crucial importance for Mazarin's career. His attempts at negotiations with Richelieu continued through the spring, meeting him again on March 17, a few days before the French capture of the Pinerolo fortress, maintaining an intense diplomatic activity in favor of peace, fruitless, and aware of its uselessness, but standing out for his diplomacy before Richelieu.

From a very young age, he successfully held diplomatic posts for the Holy See. He intervened in the intrigues of the Mantuan succession, which allowed him to meet Richelieu and Louis XIII, whose policy he was a great defender at the papal court. His interventions were decisive for the achievement of the peace of Cherasco, in 1631, thanks to which he was rewarded with an extraordinary nunciature in Paris (1635); This position brought him closer to Cardinal Richelieu and King Louis XIII, from whom he obtained favor.

In 1639 he became a naturalized Frenchman, becoming a close associate of the prime minister, thanks to whom he was named cardinal (1641) and minister of state. On December 5, 1642, Mazarin was appointed Chief Minister of State, on the recommendation of Cardinal Richelieu, who had died the day before. Since 1643, after the death of Louis XIII, Mazarin has ruled France under the regency of Anne of Austria in the name of the young King Louis XIV, who inherited the throne when he was only five years old. He will continue in the post of prime minister until his death, despite having strong opponents.

Since taking office, he has faced hostility from nobles, including a plot to assassinate him. Despite his military and diplomatic successes, which led to the end of the Thirty Years' War (Treaty of Westphalia, 1648), with the financial difficulties of France, Mazarin had to adopt austerity measures that were unpopular. His enemies tried to oust him from power, but each time he managed to handle the situation. In 1650 and 1652 he was forced into exile, but he continued to rule through the queen and a group of loyal followers, such as Hugues de Lionne (1611-1671) and Michel Le Tellier (1603-1685).

Back in Paris, he was hailed by the people who thanked him for the end of the war. Mazarino was not forgiven for his Italian origin or for the concentration of power he had achieved, which allowed him to increase taxes without negotiating. Mazarin died of a long illness at the Château de Vincennes on March 9, 1661.

Legacy

In addition to his inheritance in the political field (Jean-Baptiste Colbert was Mazarin's personal secretary and his successor), Mazarin bequeathed to the king all his assets, which are calculated as the largest private fortune of the Old Regime, even doubling that his predecessor, Richelieu, had amassed: 35 million pounds, 8 million of which in cash (as much as the funds of the Bank of Amsterdam, the most important bank of the time), deposited in different cities. The excessive enrichment of the cardinal occurred in less than ten years (1652-1661), it is supposed that mainly based on speculating with State funds or the value of currencies, and with juicy commissions obtained, through front men, on the provisioning of the armies. The young king took three days to formally accept the inheritance, but soon returned it to his heirs.In his will, Mazarin also ordered the creation of the College of Four Nations, which would eventually become the Institute of France.

Work

• Mazarin, Jules (2007). Brief of politicians. The Acantilate. ISBN 978-84-96489-98-1.