ABSTRACT
Born in Sicily of humble parentage, Giulio Mazarin had nevertheless received an excellent education at Rome and in spain. Mazarin saw the necessity for cooperation between the army of the Low Countries and that of the Rhine. Mazarin’s authority was shaken; but, before the ground actually crumbled beneath his feet, he was able to achieve one capital effort of statesmanship. Mazarin’s opponents were desultory and irresolute, and, from their resemblance to the schoolboys who slung stones in the moats of Paris and ran away when the authorities appeared, received their name of Frondeurs. The general and just discontent of France gave considerable strength to the rebels; the feeling against Mazarin outweighed for a considerable period all other considerations; but, apart from personal rivalries, this feeling only found expression in the Parlenients, and among the mob and the bourgeoisie of Paris.
