mistress of the vatican.pdf - End Time Deception

Mistress of the Vatican
When Ambassador Fontenay next called on Olimpia, she threw a
royal conniption fit about the gift. The horrified diplomat wrote Mazarin
immediately, letting him know he had made an awful mistake. On November
17 the prime minister replied, “I believe that it is most important
for the service of the king to correctly cultivate her friendship, and to omit
nothing possible to conquer her entirely, knowing full well that her credit
will prevail always with the pope over all his other relatives for the duration
of this pontificate. . . . I ask you to discover what would please her
most in terms of silver plate, precious stones or beautiful tapestries, and if
she desires that these gifts come from the queen or from myself, if she
prefers that the gifts go to her nephew [Maidalchini] or to her, if the thing
should be publicly known or extremely secret, in fine, to conform exactly
to the above punctually and in a manner that would be the most agreeable
to her.” 13 It is probable that the gifts were sent by the queen instead of
the cardinal, to Olimpia instead of her nephew, and quite publicly.
While Mazarin was sending splendid gifts to Olimpia, back home
the people of France took note. In addition to the old dresses and whatever
other presents Olimpia received, she would also have pocketed a
cash commission. Speculation ran high as to exactly how much it had been.
The president of the French Parlement declared that Michel Mazarin’s
red hat had cost France twelve million gold pieces, which Olimpia
Maidalchini had stashed in her bottomless pockets. The Venetian ambassador
Nani wrote back to his senate that the price had actually been
a mere one hundred thousand. Other French politicians said they knew
for a fact she had received only thirty thousand, which is probably closer
to the mark.
Having placated France by giving Michel Mazarin the red hat, the
pope still had the prickly problem of Portugal to resolve. France, now
the pope’s best friend, pushed him to recognize Portugal as a sovereign
nation. Spain, on the other hand, insisted that he proclaim Portugal a
rebel state, excommunicate the whole country, and have nothing to do
with its government until it rejoined Spain. And Portugal, which had
been hovering uneasily since 1640 as a kind of disembodied ghost nation,
threatened to keep for itself the significant sum in church taxes
sent annually to Rome if the pope did not recognize its sovereignty.
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