No Fronde: effects on the Franco-Spanish War?

OTL, when France entered the Thirty Years War in 1635, it declared both war on the Empire and Spain. The French made peace with the Emperor during the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 but the War with Spain continued to rage on up until 1659.

One of my teachers told us that the Fronde partially explained why the Franco-Spanish War took so long: France experiencing a period of weakness, the Spanish thought they could reverse the situation.

However, what would be the consequences if there had been no Fronde in the first place? How could that affect the Franco-Spanish War?
 
One of my teachers told us that the Fronde partially explained why the Franco-Spanish War took so long: France experiencing a period of weakness, the Spanish thought they could reverse the situation.

Yes and no. Like he probably said, it's far for being the only one explanation :
By exemple, the will of the anti-spanish faction to continue the war with Spain, as their objectives were quite achieved in Germany, but not regarding spanish ownings around the kingdom

Of course here, this explanation can be mixed with Fronde Parlementaire's events.

Now, maybe the war could have been shorter than 10 years more without Fronde?

Probably : yet the Fronde managed to crush a rebelious nobility. Continuing the war with the previous conditions would have allowed her to ask for some more power (especially when this nobility had the first role in the continuing war). It would have allowed her to ask for political power (with the support of urban people) critically after a quicker victory against Spain.

Maybe that even negociations between the regency of Anne and Mazarin and french nobility could have slowed operations.

The Fronde repression managed the king to get rid of the issue of a troubled and troublesome nobility, so the first consequence would have been harshers first years of reign for Louis XIV.
 
LSCatilina said:
Yes and no. Like he probably said, it's far for being the only one explanation :
By exemple, the will of the anti-spanish faction to continue the war with Spain, as their objectives were quite achieved in Germany, but not regarding spanish ownings around the kingdom

Of course here, this explanation can be mixed with Fronde Parlementaire's events.

Now, maybe the war could have been shorter than 10 years more without Fronde?

Probably : yet the Fronde managed to crush a rebelious nobility. Continuing the war with the previous conditions would have allowed her to ask for some more power (especially when this nobility had the first role in the continuing war). It would have allowed her to ask for political power (with the support of urban people) critically after a quicker victory against Spain.

Maybe that even negociations between the regency of Anne and Mazarin and french nobility could have slowed operations.

The Fronde repression managed the king to get rid of the issue of a troubled and troublesome nobility, so the first consequence would have been harshers first years of reign for Louis XIV.
I hadn't really taken the opinion of the French into account in these conditions. I was a bit more concerned about what the Spanish would be thinking: they had suffered two huge defeats against the French (Rocroi in 1643, Lens in 1648) and with the Empire withdrawing, they had no real reason to keep fighting France. I imagine there would still be a faction that would want to pursue the war in Spain, but I'm wondering if the Spanish wouldn't want to end the war now by that point. They have pretty severe issues themselves: Portugal was fighting for independance and Catalonia was rebelling. I don't think the Spanish would want to continue a war against France in those conditions.

Then again, even if they proposed peace, the French could indeed refuse for political reasons and the Spanish could themsleves have reason not to ask for peace with France (like the fact the French are supporting the Catalan rebels). In these conditions, how long can we expect the war to continue exactly? The prince of Condé (the Grand Condé) would stay loyal to the French crown in this situation, meaning he could still be fighting in the North. How would that affect the war? And lastly, what would be the objectives of the French? Grab more of,if not all, the Spanish Netherlands and take Franche-Comté? Conquer Catalonia?

And if there is no Fronde, how exactly would that affect Louis XIV himself? Part of what made him the Sun King OTL were the events of the Fronde: he was notably traumatized when he was forced to go to Saint Germain for his own security. Without the Fronde, how would he turn like?
 
they had no real reason to keep fighting France.

Well, here, as you said later, it's less about what they want than what french ministres, cour and king wanted.

Peace would have been at an even harsher cost than OTL, as France wouldn't have been bored by Fronde.

In these conditions, how long can we expect the war to continue exactly? The prince of Condé (the Grand Condé) would stay loyal to the French crown in this situation, meaning he could still be fighting in the North. How would that affect the war?

Without Fronde, the french nobles and generals could negociate their loyalty more subtly and length the operations. Now, the war would have been shorter quite possibly : let's say 4 or 5 years instead of a decennial.

And lastly, what would be the objectives of the French? Grab more of,if not all, the Spanish Netherlands and take Franche-Comté? Conquer Catalonia?
The french objectives were to break spanish surrounding, (so Franche-Comté, part of Netherlands).
To annex Catalonia (that was claimed indeed), it would require an heavier spanish defeat (I'm not sure the situation of the french army after the TYW could allow that AND the Spanish allies acceptance of France being able to reach Spain's core more quickly while preventing them to advance beyond Pyrenées without a large-scale war.

I think that the most credible treaty would look like a lot as the OTL Pyrenees's Treaty.

Without the Fronde, how would he turn like?
More like his father, having still a strong nobility around him (and being in situation of power). The bourgeois rise within royal cabinet would be slowed (if not prevented) and it's possible that (with a nobility able of opposing him) he wouldn't be able to reign "alone" and would have to designate a minister à la Richelieu or Mazarin.
 
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