Louis XIV and Mazarin: How France Quietly Gained Alsace

Louis XIV and Mazarin: How France Quietly Gained Alsace

Let's imagine Louis XIV and Mazarin meeting in October 1648, when Europe awoke from a thirty-year nightmare.In Münster and Osnabrück, pens finally replaced cannons: the Peace of Westphalia was born.Signature of the Peace of Westphalia - Münster, 24 October 1648 While the diplomats wiped the sweat from their brows, in Paris, a ten-year-old boy listened with bright curiosity.His name was Louis XIV.Before him stood a cardinal in deep red robes, eye…