biography
| name: |
Mazarin, Jules
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known as Cardinal Mazarin, originally Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino
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pronunciation:
[mazarĩ]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1602–61)
|
| biography:
| Neopolitan clergyman, diplomat, and statesman, born in Pescine, C Italy. He studied at Rome and in Spain, became papal nuncio to the French court (1634–6) and entered the service of Louis XIII in 1639. Through the influence of Richelieu he was elevated to cardinal, succeeding his mentor as first minister in 1642. After Louis' death (1643), he retained his authority under the queen-regent, Anne of Austria. Blamed by many for the civil disturbances of the Frondes, he twice fled the kingdom, and returned to Paris in 1653 after the nobles' revolt had been suppressed. His foreign policy was more fruitful: he concluded the Peace of Westphalia (1648), whose terms increased French prestige, and negotiated the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659), ending the prolonged Franco–Spanish conflict. He was a patron of the arts and learning, founding the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture (1648) and building up an important library in Paris. |
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