1648:
The Dutch and Spanish sign the Treaty of Munster, by whose terms Spain finally agrees to recognize the Dutch Republic, officially ending the Eighty Years War. Later that year, the great powers of Europe sign the Treaty of Westphalia, which brings the Thirty Years War to a close.
France and Spain remain at war, however, with Catalonia under French occupation. Nevertheless, with the war in Europe at its end, the Spanish are now able to focus their attention on driving the French out of Catalonia and restoring Spanish rule there, though this will not be achieved completely until the following year.
Meanwhile, with Spanish finances teetering dangerously towards bankruptcy and the state engaged in a state of war with France, the Marqués del Carpio (King Felipe's chief minister) advises the king of Spain to strengthen his alliance with Austria further, as it will both protect the interests of Spain and effectively act to encircle the French. King Felipe IV opens negotiations for the marriage of his daughter the ten year old infanta María Teresa to her cousin and brother-in-law, the fifteen year old King Ferdinand IV of Hungary, eldest son of the Emperor. The Austrians are ever eager to pursue the alliance and easily cooperate with the Spanish ambassador in Austria, the Bishop of Badajoz. The infanta and the king of Hungary are officially betrothed at the closing of the year.
1649:
The civil war known as the "Fronde" breaks out in France. In its first phases, the revolt only consists of a small uprising by the forces of discontent members of the Parlement of Paris, though these men are easily pacified by a compromise with the Queen Anne, regent for the minor king Louis XIV.
However, discontent with the influence of the queen regent's adviser Cardinal Mazarin, the Prince de Condé, first prince of the blood, begins conspiring to implement a coup and seize power. He makes contact with the archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, the governor-general of the Netherlands for the king of Spain. Archduke Leopold Wilhelm agrees to invade Champagne with his army in Artois, at the behest of King Felipe in Spain.
1650:
Condé is arrested on the orders of Mazarin, after the cardinal intercepts communications between the prince and the archduke Leopold Wilhelm. On King Felipe's orders, Leopold Wilhelm acts immediately and invades Champagne from Artois, taking advantage of the confusion following Condé's arrest. The archduke manages to inflict a heavy defeat on the French commander, the Comte de Plessis-Praslin, and take the fort of Guise. Condé's ally, the Vicomte de Turenne, also revolts and throws in his lot with the archduke, and the forces march towards Paris, with the intention of liberating the prince de Condé and setting him up as regent in the place of Queen Anne, removing the queen's favorite, the anti-Spanish Cardinal Mazarin, from power. After taking Soissons, the Spanish decide to winter in Champagne, forcing Plessis-Praslin to retreat into the Ile-de-France for the time being.
Mazarin, meanwhile, attempts to thwart the coup by having the twelve year old King Louis declare his majority in a lit de justice, wishing to legitimize his position as first minister, and ensure Condé cannot seize the regency. Nevertheless, Mazarin and Queen Anne remain in de facto power, with the boy king still effectively under their authority.
1651:
Plessis-Praslin manages to block Spanish advancement into the Ile-de-France, but this victory is only mildly successful as Turenne and his forces are already besieging Paris at this time.
Already unpopular with the people of France, who consider him an upstart and a foreigner, Mazarin now finds the city of Paris openly hostile to him, blaming him for the Spanish invasion and the rebellious troops of Turenne which are now at their gates. In the interests of self preservation, the cardinal resigns his office as first minster and goes into voluntary exile, escaping into Italy.
Queen Anne, her closest adviser gone, finally bows to public pressure and releases Condé from the Bastille. The prince is immediately appointed first minster and takes power, his coup a success.
In a series of clever moves, Condé is able to secure his position. The prince first takes possession of the person of king and exiles the queen from court. A truce is secured with the Spanish, who still occupy Picardy and northern Champagne.
Peace is finally made between the two realms, and on favorable terms for Spain, much to the delight of King Felipe IV, who now realizes that he has the prince de Condé virtually in his pocket. The treaty of Soissons is signed, in which France agrees to pay a large sum of reparations to the Spanish (also much to the happiness of King Felipe, as it will at least provide some stability to the abysmal state of Spanish finances). In exchange, the Spanish agree to make peace with the French and retreat back into the Netherlands. Condé, however, remains an ally of the king of Spain, to whom he owes his rise to power.
1653:
The fifteen year old infanta María Teresa is married by proxy to her twenty-one year old cousin the king of Hungary in Madrid. After several days of celebration, the infanta tearfully leaves her family, accompanied by a large wedding party. The party sets sail from Barcelona and arrives in Naples, where they make their way north by land to Trent, where the official handover of the bride takes place. The infanta then journeys to Innsbruck where she and the king of Hungary are officially married in the presence of the entire imperial court, including the bride's father-in-law, Emperor Ferdinand III. Later that same year, the king of Hungary is elected king of the Romans, and thus eventual successor to his father the Emperor.
1654:
King Ferdinand IV of Hungary dies of smallpox, aged only twenty-two. He leaves his wife, María Teresa, now styled the "Queen Dowager of the Romans" a sixteen year old widow.
Meanwhile, in Spain, King Felipe IV, his armies moral improved from their recent victories in France, and all his forces now fully focused on Portugal (the Franco-Spanish peace concluded) manages to defeat the Portuguese rebels under the Duke of Braganza and take the city of Lisbon. As the rebels no longer have the aid of the French since the fall of Mazarin, they are unable to hold their position any longer and forced to retreat south, leaving a majority of the realm in Spanish hands.
1655:
The Marqués del Carpio, seeing Spain's recent victory in Portugal as a final turning point in the war, decides to ensure that the French alliance will remain secure and the Spanish successes will continue. He thus convinces King Felipe of the prospects of a French marriage for his widowed daughter, María Teresa. The young dowager queen of the Romans is thus betrothed to seventeen year old King Louis XIV of France and a marriage contract hastily drafted and signed. The dowager queen is recalled to Spain, after some delay on the part of her father-in-law the Emperor, who had hoped for the alliance to be renewed with the widowed queen marrying his second son, Archduke Leopold (not to be confused with his cousin, Archduke Leopold Wilhelm). Nevertheless, María Teresa finally returns to Spain, where she is hastily married by proxy at Burgos to the King of France, loaded down with a large bridal retinue, and dispatched to France, where she weds Louis XIV at Bordeaux the following year.
In compensation for his losses, the six year old infanta [FONT="]María Antonia, granddaughter of King Felipe IV, is betrothed to her uncle, Archduke Leopold, second son and new heir to the Emperor.
1656:
The Duke of Braganza dies of fever in southern Portugal, leaving a child as his heir to reign as pretender to the Portuguese crown. Not wishing to risk the instability of a regency and fight in the name of a child, a majority of the rebels abandon the Duchess of Braganza (now titular regent for her son) and throw in their lot with the Spanish. The rebels surrender later that year and Portugal once again falls into Spanish hands, reuniting the Iberian peninsula. However, discontent will continue throughout that kingdom, and there will be many minor revolts over the next five years that will exhaust the efforts of the Spanish military before they are finally put down and the country completely subdued.
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