Circle of Willis
Well-known member
France was plunged into a number of civil wars, collectively called 'La Fronde' after the slings used by Parisian rebels, immediately after its victory in the Thirty Years' War. To keep a long and complicated story short, basically the rebel 'frondeurs' opposed the French Crown's efforts to jack up taxes (to pay for the costs of fighting said 30YW, plus even more wars against Spain & other powers) and infringe on the established rights of the French parlements and nobility. Louis XIV defeated the rebels, despite their vast number and the leadership of figures such as the Grand Condé (who had previously defeated the Spanish at Rocroi and other battles in the last stages of the 30YW), and his victory cleared the path for him to become the famously absolutist, all-centralizing Sun King.
So, what if the Fronde had gone the other way and parliamentary/aristocratic forces humbled Louis and his ministers (of whom Cardinal Mazarin was the chief) instead?
Bonus: One of my first threads on the Sietch asked what if Charles I and the Royalists had won the English Civil War, where historically the Parliament's victory and the beheading of that king decisively charted England's course toward becoming a constitutional, parliamentary monarchy. What if both were to happen - that is to say, the Fronde wins in France but the Cavaliers prevail in England? How would England becoming absolutist while France goes the road ofParliament les parlements, the opposite of how they evolved IRL, affect the world?
So, what if the Fronde had gone the other way and parliamentary/aristocratic forces humbled Louis and his ministers (of whom Cardinal Mazarin was the chief) instead?
Bonus: One of my first threads on the Sietch asked what if Charles I and the Royalists had won the English Civil War, where historically the Parliament's victory and the beheading of that king decisively charted England's course toward becoming a constitutional, parliamentary monarchy. What if both were to happen - that is to say, the Fronde wins in France but the Cavaliers prevail in England? How would England becoming absolutist while France goes the road of