590

Death of Charles X.

Struggle in Sweden [1660

The death of Charles X exposed his country to internal dangers even greater than any due to her foreign foes. During his brief reign his firm hand had repressed that conflict between the noble and nonnoble Estates which Christina had inflamed and in which a deep-lying antagonism of interest was revealed. But his will showed traces of that early distrust of the oligarchy which had inspired his protest to Christina, praying "that God might keep him from living to see the day when, after the death of her Majesty, he should be in the hands of those lords." Dreading, it would seem, the reactionary Regency of the Råd, he had designated his untrained and emotional Queen, Hedwig Eleonora, as president with two votes. To his brother, the detested Adolphus John, he gave the second place and the office of Marshal, while his brother-inlaw Magnus de La Gardie became Chancellor, and the Treasury was entrusted to Herman Fleming, the soul of the Reduction. These dispositions immediately divided the Diet into two hostile camps. The three non-noble Estates, the priests, burghers, and peasants, urged the acceptance of the will, while the Nobles, greater and lesser alike, declared that it violated the law of Sweden. In deference to the unfinished wars and to the threat that no member of the Råd would hold office if Adolphus John were in the Government, the three Estates consented that the confirmation of the will should be deferred (February 16, 1660). The guidance of affairs was therefore left to the great officers of State, who found a skilful leader in Per Brahe, the richest noble in Sweden, and Steward (Riksdrots) for nearly twenty years.

Towards the close of April, 1660, before the Regency was ten weeks old, peace, of which the Swedish forces in Prussia stood in desperate need, was arranged with the Poles at Oliva. In the provisions of the treaty, the forward policy in Livonia inaugurated by Erik XIV, and the Lutheran and national Swedish revolution of 1593-9, at last found complete vindication. On behalf of the Polish Vasa, now a dying race, John Casimir renounced all claim to the Crown of Sweden. At the same

time, by a pact in which the Emperor and the Elector of Brandenburg joined, the possession of West Prussia was confirmed to the Republic, and that of Livonia to Sweden; while in East Prussia the Elector was emancipated from vassalage to any Power.

Denmark, meanwhile, though suffering acutely from the state of war, allowed the hope of recovering Scania to interfere with progress towards peace. Immediately after receiving the news of the death of Charles X, the ambassadors of the Western Powers at Copenhagen had returned with vigour to their work of mediation. Having extorted from the Swedish envoys an admission that they desired peace, they hastened to Frederick sanguine of success. His reluctance was at length overcome by the action of the Dutch, who made a treaty with Sweden and used their command of the sea to immobilise the forces of Denmark and her allies. Towards the close of March the conferences began; but a

1660-1]

The settlement of the North

591

treacherous attempt of the Dutch to force Sweden to accept their terms threw everything into confusion. In April, Ruyter seized nine Swedish men-of-war in the Sound. The Swedes retorted with an embargo upon Dutch ships and goods, and the Triple Concert was paralysed.

Where mediation failed, however, direct negotiation between the combatants proved more successful. On June 6, 1660, accelerated by the news from Oliva, by the restoration of Frederick's relative Charles II, and above all by the state of the Swedish finances, a treaty of peace between Denmark and Sweden was signed at Copenhagen. This abiding settlement between the two Scandinavian Powers conformed to the wishes of the Concert. Frederick recovered Trondhjem and Bornholm, the latter by purchasing eighteen great estates in Scania for the Swedish Crown. The terms established at Roeskilde were confirmed; but the closing of the Baltic to foreign war-ships was abandoned.

Peace with the Tsar, on the other hand, which Charles X had endeavoured to negotiate, was by no means yet assured. It was always difficult to conclude a treaty with a Power which, though it had begun to turn towards the West for tacticians, in diplomacy was still barbarian. In the spring of 1660, moreover, the Tsar's refusal to surrender an inch of his conquests broke up the conference. For a moment it seemed probable that there would at last be realised that union of Sweden and Poland to curb their dangerous neighbour which was advocated by the Polish Queen. Ill-paid and mutinous as were the armies of the Republic, the conclusion of peace at Oliva had brought them victory in Lithuania and in the Ukraine. By joining her forces to theirs, Sweden might bring the Tsar to his knees in one campaign. Despite the ruin of the finances, some of the Råd shared the martial ardour of Wrangel, a soldier who held that every knot should be cut by the sword. Some were influenced by the argument that foreign war alone could save the State from a war of revolution, while others held that the hint of a hostile alliance would bring Russia to terms. At the close of the year cautious overtures were made to Poland, and in Sweden and Livonia troops were mustered for a new campaign.

With an armed nation at their back, yet chastened by the fear that the Poles might themselves make peace, the Swedes brought their new negotiation at Kardis to a successful issue. In June, 1661, the Tsar consented to surrender his conquests, and the settlement of 1617 was in substance re-established. The great war kindled by the revolt of the Cossacks in 1648, after flaming up in a conflagration which remoulded northern Europe, had now dwindled into a smouldering feud between Poland and the Tsar. Denmark, with alien fortresses almost within sight of her capital, was preparing to avenge her mutilation upon her nobles. For the first time in the seventeenth century, Sweden was at peace with all the world.

CHAPTER XXI

MAZARIN

BEFORE his death Richelieu had himself designated Giulio Mazarini, called Mazarin in his adopted country, as the man best qualified to carry on his policy. Born in Sicily of humble parentage, Mazarin had nevertheless received an excellent education at Rome and in Spain. For a short time he had followed the profession of arms, but soon found his true vocation in the diplomatic service of the Court of Rome. Before Casale, in 1630, he had negotiated an arrangement between France and Spain, which ultimately brought the Mantuan War to a conclusion. From 1634 to 1636 he served as Nuncio Extraordinary in France, and in 1639 he formally entered the service of France and was naturalised. He did good work, especially as an envoy in Piedmont, and was rewarded in 1641 by the Cardinalate. The King now called him to his councils and announced his choice to the Parlements of France.

Louis at first made a point of showing that the death of Richelieu caused no change. A sudden rupture would have implied that the dead Minister had been the true ruler of France. The existing officials were retained in power. The late Cardinal's offices were distributed among his relations. Armand de Wignerod, now Duke of Richelieu, became General of the Galleys and Governor of Havre. Armand de MailléBrézé, now Duke of Fronsac, received the office of Superintendent of Navigation, and the command of Brouage. The Marshal de La Meilleraye inherited the government of Britanny. But the difference was soon felt. The Cardinal's enemies were liberated from their prisons, or returned from exile. Gaston of Orleans appeared at Court and was later allowed to be reunited to his wife, Margaret of Lorraine. The families of Vendôme and Guise came back to France. The body of the late QueenMother was brought from abroad and interred at Saint-Denis. The new rule was milder and more conciliatory.

The foreign policy of France was not changed. Great efforts were made to continue the war with vigour, especially on the northern frontier, where the King himself proposed to take the command. Guébriant was strengthened and encouraged to propose an effective plan

1642-31

Mazarin Chief Minister

593

of action on the Rhine. The conquest of Catalonia was to be pressed; Prince Thomas of Savoy was assured of continued French support; and an expedition against Franche Comté was planned.

The new Minister meanwhile was strengthening his position, Supple and elusive, he masked his advance with consummate skill. Of Richelieu's creatures those whose rivalry was most to be feared were Sublet de Noyers, the able Minister of War, and the younger Bouthillier, now Comte de Chavigny. Sublet de Noyers was first pushed aside, and Michel Le Tellier, Mazarin's dependant, took his place. Meanwhile the King's health was breaking; a long minority, a long Regency, were in view. Without exciting suspicion, without haste or eagerness, Mazarin succeeded in winning his way to the Queen's confidence. Now a cipher, she must later become a power. His beauty, his grace, his exquisite address, facilitated his task. Yet, when the plans for the Regency were discussed, Mazarin was careful on the one hand not to thwart the King's intention of closely limiting his wife's authority, and on the other to secure that the odium of these measures should fall upon others, especially upon Chavigny. In April, 1643, the King's plan was announced. Anne of Austria was to be Regent, the Duke of Orleans her Lieutenant-General; but both were to be controlled by a permanent Council, irremovable, deciding all questions and filling its vacancies by a majority of votes. In this Council the Queen's vote or that of Orleans was to count for no more than those of the other members - Condé, Mazarin, the Chancellor Séguier, and the two Bouthilliers. Peace and war, finance, and appointments to all important posts, were expressly reserved for the Council. Two persons alone were excluded from the general amnesty, the Duchess of Chevreuse, and the unfortunate Châteauneuf. The former was to remain in exile, the latter in prison until the end of the war. This declaration was communicated to the Parlement at a lit de justice and registered (April 20, 21).

On May 14 the King expired; and measures were at once taken to defeat his last intentions. The consent of the principal persons was obtained; the magistrates were sounded; and on May 18 the Queen and the young King appeared in the Parlement. The chief councillors were present but Mazarin was conspicuously absent. Orleans, Condé, and the Chancellor demanded that the recent declaration should be cancelled, and the sovereign authority of the Queen Regent recognised. After the stern repression of Richelieu, the Parlement rejoiced to find its intervention in matters of high government not only tolerated but invited. The necessary resolutions were speedily passed; and the declaration registered by the express command of the late King was expunged from the Records. A fresh declaration was issued, vesting the royal power and the care of the young King in the Queen as Regent, with Orleans as her Lieutenant-General, and Condé as his Deputy. The same evening the Queen confirmed Mazarin in his post of Chief Minister.

C. M. H. IV.

38

594

The battle of Rocroi

[1643

The new rule began propitiously. Francisco de Melo had crossed the frontier and was besieging Rocroi. The French army, which Louis had intended to lead in person, had been entrusted to the young Duke of Enghien, son of the Prince of Condé, with the Marshal de L'Hôpital to supplement his lack of experience. Enghien marched to the relief of Rocroi, and, in spite of L'Hôpital, resolved to risk a general engagement. The Spanish General, eagerly pressing his siege and expecting no such bold move, allowed the French army to approach, and neglected to protect his forces by entrenchments. On May 18 the two armies confronted each other: the Spaniards numbering between 24,000 and 26,000, including five tercios of the redoubtable Spanish infantry: the French inferior by some 3-4000 men, the proportions of cavalry and infantry being similar in the two armies. A rash forward movement on the French left nearly led to disaster, but the mistake was remedied before Don Francisco had seized his opportunity. The day was now far advanced, and the contest was deferred till the morrow.

During the night word came to the French leader that Melo expected reinforcements in the morning. The attack must be made at once if at all. Before dawn the French moved forward. Enghien and Gassion on the right overthrew the Flemish cavalry which opposed them. On the left once more La Ferté, advised by L'Hôpital, advanced rashly, was taken in flank, and thrown into disorder by the German horse. The French artillery was captured and was turned upon the French centre, which began to retreat. At this moment Enghien rallied his victorious cavalry and fell upon the flank and rear of the Spanish centre. The Walloons and the Germans were driven in flight. The Spanish infantry still remained unshaken. On the other hand the French retreat was arrested, and their centre once more advanced. The French left reformed; the Spanish right was attacked in front and behind. Enghien left his victorious wing, and led the infantry of his centre against the tercios viejos. Three times they repulsed the attack: the fourth time their steadfast ranks were broken; when the slaughter had been with difficulty arrested the Spanish infantry was no more; of 6000 men present at the battle only 1500 escaped. The victory was complete; and the main credit of it fell to the young commander, though the services of Gassion with the cavalry on the right, and of Sirot in checking the retreat of the centre, had also been conspicuous.

A great general, who was also a Prince of the Blood, had come upon the scene. The decision to attack was his; the admirable dispositions of the approach and before the battle, the brilliant inspiration in the heat of combat, the final and crushing blow, all these were due to him. At the age of 21, Louis de Bourbon, Duke of Enghien, had proved himself to be one of the boldest and most skilful commanders of the time. How would his Government regard him? With jealousy, fear, and suspicion, or as the fittest instrument to fulfil the destinies of