PEACE OF THE PYRENEES BETWEEN FRANCE AND SPAIN,
CARDINAL MAZARIN

ABEELE, Pieter van: France, 1660, Silver, 69 mm
Obv: Cardinal Mazarin (r)   IVIIVS S. ROM. EXL. CARD. MAZARINVS
Rev: Temple of Peace   QVI. POSVIT. FINES SVOS. PACEM. PSA. 47 Below: D.I. EQVES. DED   On either side of temple: ANNO 1660
Signed: PVA
Two cast and chased silver shells joined at the rim.
Ref: Van Loon II 440/3 (Very Rare)

Jules Mazarin (1602-1661) was a protege of and successor to Cardinal Richelieu. Mazarin's diplomatic skills helped him negotiate the Peace of the Pyrenees (1659) (for which this medal was executed), which not only ended the war between France and Spain but also resulted in a Spanish bride for Louis XIV, Princess Maria Teresa, daughter of Philip IV of Spain, thereby giving Louis a legitimate claim to the Spanish throne. This treaty between France and Spain, completed the Peace of Westphalia (1648) negotiated at the end of the Thirty Years' War. The Peace reflected the decline of Spain and the ascendancy of France as the dominant power in Europe. Mazarin's policies were continued by his successor Jean Baptiste Colbert. (See also chapter on France).

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