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Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Historical figures

   Cardinal Richelieu was the French chief minister from 1624 until his
   death.
   Enlarge
   Cardinal Richelieu was the French chief minister from 1624 until his
   death.

   Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu, Cardinal-Duc de Richelieu (
   September 9, 1585 – December 4, 1642), was a French clergyman, noble,
   and statesman.

   Consecrated as a bishop in 1607, he later entered politics, becoming a
   Secretary of State in 1616. Richelieu soon rose in both the Church and
   the state, becoming a cardinal in 1622, and King Louis XIII's chief
   minister in 1624. He remained in office until his death in 1642; he was
   succeeded by Jules Cardinal Mazarin.

   The Cardinal de Richelieu was often known by the title of the King's
   "Chief Minister." As a result, he is sometimes considered to be the
   world's first Prime Minister, in the modern sense of the term. He
   sought to consolidate royal power and crush domestic factions. By
   restraining the power of the nobility, he transformed France into a
   strong, centralized state. His chief foreign policy objective was to
   check the power of the Austro-Spanish Habsburg dynasty. Although he was
   a Roman Catholic cardinal, he did not hesitate to make alliances with
   Protestant rulers in attempting to achieve this goal. His tenure was
   marked by the Thirty Years' War that engulfed Europe.

   As an advocate for Samuel de Champlain and of the retention of Québec,
   he founded the Compagnie des Cent-Associés and saw the Treaty of
   Saint-Germain-en-Laye return Québec to French rule under Champlain,
   after the settlement had been captured by the Kirkes in 1629. This in
   part allowed the colony to eventually develop into the heartland of
   Francophone culture in North America.

   Richelieu was also famous for his patronage of the arts; most notably,
   he founded the Académie française, the learned society responsible for
   matters pertaining to the French language. Richelieu is also known by
   the sobriquet l'Éminence rouge ("the Red Eminence"), from the red shade
   of a cardinal's vestments and the style "eminence" as a cardinal. He is
   also a leading character in The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas.

Early life

   Richelieu was the fourth of five children and the last of three sons,
   born in Paris in 1585. His family, although belonging only to the
   lesser nobility of Poitou, was somewhat prominent: his father, François
   du Plessis, seigneur de Richelieu, was a soldier and courtier who
   served as the Grand Provost of France; his mother, Susanne de La Porte,
   was the daughter of a famous jurist. When Armand was only five years
   old, his father died fighting in the French Wars of Religion, leaving
   the family in debt; with the aid of royal grants, however, the family
   was able to avoid financial difficulties. At the age of nine, young
   Richelieu was sent to the College of Navarre in Paris to study
   philosophy. Thereafter, he began to train for a military career,
   following in his father's footsteps.

   King Henry III had rewarded Richelieu's father for his participation in
   the Wars of Religion by granting his family the bishopric of Luçon. The
   family appropriated most of the revenues of the bishopric for private
   use; they were, however, challenged by clergymen who desired the funds
   for ecclesiastical purposes. In order to protect the important source
   of revenue, Richelieu's mother proposed to make her second son,
   Alphonse, the bishop of Luçon. Alphonse, who had no desire to become a
   bishop, instead became a monk. Thus, it became necessary that Armand
   end his ambitions for a military career and instead join the clergy.
   Richelieu was not at all averse to the prospect of becoming a bishop;
   he was a frail and sickly child who preferred to pursue academic
   interests. He did not want to be a bishop but it was in his best
   interests.

   In 1606, King Henry IV nominated Richelieu to become Bishop of Luçon.
   As Richelieu had not yet reached the official minimum age, it was
   necessary that he journey to Rome to obtain a special dispensation from
   the Pope. The agreement of the Pope having been secured, Richelieu was
   consecrated bishop in April 1607. Soon after he returned to his diocese
   in 1608, Richelieu was heralded as a reformer; he became the first
   bishop in France to implement the institutional reforms prescribed by
   the Council of Trent between 1545 and 1563.

   At about this time, Richelieu became a friend of François Leclerc du
   Tremblay (better known as "Père Joseph" or "Father Joseph"), a Capuchin
   friar, who would later become a close confidant. Because of his
   closeness to Richelieu, and the grey colour of his robes, Father Joseph
   was also nicknamed l'Éminence grise ("the Grey Eminence"). Later,
   Richelieu often used Father Joseph as an agent during diplomatic
   negotiations.

Rise to power

   The young King Louis XIII was only a figurehead during his early reign;
   power actually rested with his mother, Marie de Médicis.
   Enlarge
   The young King Louis XIII was only a figurehead during his early reign;
   power actually rested with his mother, Marie de Médicis.

   In 1614, the clergymen of Poitou elected Richelieu as one of their
   representatives to the States-General. There, he was a vigorous
   advocate of the Church, arguing that it should be exempt from taxes and
   that bishops should have more political power. He was the most
   prominent clergyman to support the adoption of the decrees of the
   Council of Trent throughout France; the Third Estate (commoners) was
   his chief opponent in this endeavour. At the end of the assembly, the
   First Estate (the clergy) chose him to deliver the address enumerating
   its petitions and decisions. Soon after the dissolution of the
   States-General, Richelieu entered the service of King Louis XIII's
   wife, Anne of Austria, as her almoner.

   Richelieu advanced politically by faithfully serving Concino Concini,
   the most powerful minister in the kingdom. In 1616, Richelieu was made
   Secretary of State, and was given responsibility for foreign affairs.
   Like Concini, the Bishop was one of the closest advisors of Louis
   XIII's mother, Marie de Médicis. Queen Marie had become Regent of
   France when the nine-year old Louis ascended the throne; although her
   son reached the legal age of majority in 1614, she remained the
   effective ruler of the realm. However, her policies, and those of
   Concini, proved unpopular with many in France. As a result, both Marie
   and Concini became the targets of intrigues at court; their most
   powerful enemy was Charles de Luynes. In April 1617, in a plot arranged
   by Luynes, King Louis XIII ordered that Concini be arrested, and killed
   should he resist; Concini was consequently assassinated, and Marie de
   Médicis overthrown. His patron having died, Richelieu also lost power;
   he was dismissed as Secretary of State, and was removed from the court.
   In 1618, the King, still suspicious of the Bishop of Luçon, banished
   him to Avignon. There, Richelieu spent most of his time writing; he
   composed a catechism entitled L'Instruction du chrétien.

   In 1619, Marie de Médicis escaped from her confinement in the Château
   de Blois, becoming the titular leader of an aristocratic rebellion. The
   King and the duc de Luynes recalled Richelieu, believing that he would
   be able to reason with the Queen. Richelieu was successful in this
   endeavour, mediating between Marie and her son. Complex negotiations
   bore fruit when the Treaty of Angoulême was ratified; Marie de Médicis
   was given complete freedom, but would remain at peace with the King.
   The Queen was also restored to the royal council.

   After the death of the King's favourite, the duc de Luynes, in 1621,
   Richelieu began to rise to power quickly. Next year, the King nominated
   Richelieu for a cardinalate, which Pope Gregory XV accordingly granted
   on 19 April 1622. Crises in France, including a rebellion of the
   Huguenots, rendered Richelieu a nearly indispensable advisor to the
   King. After he was appointed to the royal council of ministers in April
   1624, he intrigued against the chief minister, Charles, duc de La
   Vieuville. In August of the same year, La Vieuville was arrested on
   charges of corruption, and Cardinal Richelieu took his place as the
   King's principal minister.

Chief minister

   Cardinal Richelieu's policy involved two primary goals: centralization
   of power in France and opposition to the Habsburg dynasty (which ruled
   in both Austria and Spain). Shortly after he became Louis's principal
   minister, he was faced with a crisis in the Valtellina, a valley in
   Lombardy (northern Italy). In order to counter Spanish designs on the
   territory, Richelieu supported the Protestant Swiss canton of Grisons,
   which also claimed the strategically important valley. The Cardinal
   deployed troops to Valtellina, from which the Pope's garrisons were
   driven out. Richelieu's decision to support a Protestant canton against
   the Pope won him many enemies in predominantly Catholic France.
   Cardinal Richelieu at the Siege of La Rochelle.
   Enlarge
   Cardinal Richelieu at the Siege of La Rochelle.

   In order to further consolidate power in France, Richelieu sought to
   suppress the influence of the feudal nobility. In 1626, he abolished
   the position of Constable of France and he ordered all fortified
   castles to be razed, excepting only those needed to defend against
   invaders. Thus, he stripped the princes, dukes, and lesser aristocrats
   of important defences that could have been used against the King's
   armies during rebellions. As a result, Richelieu was hated by most of
   the nobility.

   Another obstacle to the centralization of power was religious division
   in France. The Huguenots, one of the largest political and religious
   factions in the country, controlled a significant military force, and
   were in rebellion. Moreover, the English king, Charles I, declared war
   on France in an attempt to aid the Huguenot faction. In 1627, Richelieu
   ordered the army to besiege the Huguenot stronghold of La Rochelle; the
   Cardinal personally commanded the besieging troops. English troops
   under the Duke of Buckingham led an expedition to help the citizens of
   La Rochelle, but failed abysmally. The city, however, remained firm for
   over a year before capitulating in 1628.

   Although the Huguenots suffered a major defeat at La Rochelle, they
   continued to fight, led by Henri, duc de Rohan. Protestant forces,
   however, were defeated in 1629; Rohan submitted to the terms of the
   Peace of Alais. As a result, religious toleration for Protestants,
   which had first been granted by the Edict of Nantes in 1598, was
   permitted to continue; however, the Cardinal abolished their political
   rights and protections. Rohan was not executed (as were leaders of
   rebellions later in Richelieu's tenure); in fact, he later became a
   commanding officer in the French army.
   On the "Day of the Dupes" in 1630, it appeared that Marie de Médicis
   had secured Richelieu's dismissal. Richelieu, however, survived the
   scheme, and Marie was exiled as a result.
   Enlarge
   On the "Day of the Dupes" in 1630, it appeared that Marie de Médicis
   had secured Richelieu's dismissal. Richelieu, however, survived the
   scheme, and Marie was exiled as a result.

   Habsburg Spain exploited the French conflict with the Huguenots to
   extend its influence in northern Italy. It funded the Huguenot rebels
   in order to keep the French army occupied, meanwhile expanding its
   Italian dominions. Richelieu, however, responded aggressively; after La
   Rochelle capitulated, he personally led the French army to northern
   Italy to restrain Spain.

   In the next year, Richelieu's position was seriously threatened by his
   former patron, Marie de Médicis. Marie believed that the Cardinal had
   robbed her of her political influence; thus, she demanded that her son
   dismiss the chief minister. Louis XIII was not, at first, averse to
   such a course of action, for his relations with the Cardinal were poor.
   The King disliked Richelieu, but the persuasive statesman was capable
   of convincing his master of the wisdom in his plans. On 11 November
   1630, Marie de Médicis and the King's brother, Gaston, duc d'Orléans,
   secured the King's agreement for the dismissal. Cardinal Richelieu,
   however, was aware of the plan, and quickly convinced the King to
   repent. This day, known as the Day of the Dupes, was the only one on
   which Louis XIII took a step toward dismissing his minister.
   Thereafter, the King, although continuing to dislike Richelieu, was
   unwavering in his political support for him; the courtier was created
   duc de Richelieu and was made a Peer of France.

   Meanwhile, the unsuccessful Marie de Médicis was exiled to Compiègne.
   Both Marie and the duc d'Orléans continued to conspire against Cardinal
   Richelieu, but their schemes came to nothing. The nobility, also,
   remained powerless. The only important rising was that of Henri, duc de
   Montmorency in 1632; Richelieu, ruthless in suppressing opposition,
   ordered the duke's execution. Richelieu's harsh measures were designed
   to intimidate his enemies. The Cardinal also ensured his political
   security by establishing a large network of spies in France as well as
   in other European countries.

Thirty Years' War

   Before Richelieu's ascent to power, most of Europe had become involved
   in the Thirty Years' War. In 1629, the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor
   humbled many of his Protestant opponents in Germany, thereby greatly
   increasing his power. Cardinal Richelieu, alarmed by the Emperor
   Ferdinand II's influence, incited Sweden to attack. He also agreed to
   aid King Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden with financial subsidies.
   France was not openly at war with the Empire, so aid was given
   secretly. In the meantime, France and Spain continued to remain hostile
   over the latter kingdom's ambitions in northern Italy. At that time
   Northern Italy was a major strategic asset in Europe's balance of
   powers, being a terrestrial link between the Habsburg's two branches in
   Germany and Spain. Had the imperial armies dominated this region,
   France's very existence would have been endangered, being circled by
   Habsburg territories. Spain was then aspiring for becoming a "universal
   monarchy", with support from the Pope. When, in 1630, French
   ambassadors in Regensburg agreed to make peace with Habsburg Spain,
   Richelieu refused to uphold them. The agreement would have prohibited
   French interference in the hostilities in Germany. Thus, Richelieu
   advised Louis XIII to refuse to ratify the treaty.

   Because he openly aligned France with Protestant powers, Richelieu was
   denounced by many as a traitor to the Roman Catholic Church. Military
   hostilities, at first, were disastrous for the French, with many
   victories going to Spain and the Empire. Neither side, however, could
   obtain a decisive advantage, and the conflict lingered on until after
   Richelieu's death.

   Military expenses put a considerable strain on the King's revenues. In
   response, Cardinal Richelieu raised the gabelle (a tax on salt) and the
   taille (a tax on land). The taille was enforced to provide funds to
   raise armies and wage war. The clergy, nobility, and high bourgeoisie
   were either exempt or could easily avoid payment, so the burden fell on
   the poorest segment of the nation. To collect taxes more efficiently,
   and to keep corruption to a minimum, Richelieu bypassed local tax
   officials, replacing them with intendants—officials in the direct
   service of the Crown. Richelieu's financial scheme, however, caused
   unrest amongst the peasants; there were several uprisings between 1636
   and 1639. Cardinal Richelieu crushed the revolts violently, and dealt
   with the rebels harshly.

Last years

   Towards the end of his life, Richelieu managed to alienate many
   individuals, including the Pope. Richelieu was displeased by Pope Urban
   VIII's refusal to name him the papal legate in France; in turn, the
   Pope did not approve of the administration of the French church, or of
   French foreign policy. However, the conflict was largely healed when
   the Pope granted a cardinalate to Jules Mazarin, one of Richelieu's
   foremost political allies, in 1641. Despite troubled relations with the
   Roman Catholic Church, Richelieu did not support the complete
   repudiation of papal authority in France, as was advocated by the
   Gallicanists.
   Jules Cardinal Mazarin succeeded Richelieu in office.
   Enlarge
   Jules Cardinal Mazarin succeeded Richelieu in office.

   As he neared his death, Cardinal Richelieu faced a plot that threatened
   to remove him from power. The cardinal had introduced a young man named
   Henri Coiffier de Ruzé, marquis de Cinq-Mars to Louis XIII's court. The
   Cardinal had been a friend of Cinq-Mars' father. More importantly,
   Richelieu hoped that Cinq-Mars would become Louis' favourite, so that
   he could indirectly exercise greater influence over the monarch's
   decisions. Cinq-Mars had become the royal favourite by 1639, but,
   contrary to Cardinal Richelieu's belief, he was not easy to control.
   The young marquis realised that Richelieu would not permit him to gain
   political power. In 1641, he participated in the comte de Soissons'
   failed conspiracy against Richelieu, but was not discovered. Next year,
   he schemed with leading nobles (including the King's brother, the duc
   d'Orléans) to raise a rebellion; he also signed a secret agreement with
   the King of Spain, who promised to aid the rebels. Richelieu's spy
   service, however, discovered the plot, and the Cardinal received a copy
   of the treaty. Cinq-Mars was promptly arrested and executed; although
   Louis approved the use of capital punishment, he grew more distant from
   Richelieu as a result.

   In the same year, however, Richelieu's health was already failing. The
   Cardinal suffered greatly from eye strain and headaches, among other
   ailments. As he felt his death approaching, he named as his successor
   one of his most faithful followers, Jules Cardinal Mazarin. Although
   Mazarin was originally a representative of the Holy See, he had left
   the Pope's service to join that of the King of France. Mazarin
   succeeded Richelieu when the latter died on 4 December 1642. The
   Cardinal is interred at the church of the Sorbonne.

Arts and culture

   Cardinal de Richelieu
   Enlarge
   Cardinal de Richelieu

   Cardinal Richelieu was a famous patron of the arts. Himself an author
   of various religious and political works (most notably his Political
   Testament), he funded the literary careers of many writers. He was a
   lover of the theatre, which was not considered a respectable art form
   during that era. Among the individuals he patronised was the famous
   playwright Pierre Corneille. Richelieu was also the founder and patron
   of the Académie française, the pre-eminent French literary society. The
   institution had previously been in informal existence; in 1635,
   however, Cardinal Richelieu obtained official letters patent for the
   body. The Académie française includes forty members, promotes French
   literature, and continues to be the official authority on the French
   language. Richelieu served as the Académie's "protector"; since 1672,
   that role has been fulfilled by the French head of state.

   In 1622, Richelieu was elected the proviseur or principal of the
   Sorbonne. He presided over the renovation of the college's buildings,
   and over the construction of its famous chapel, where he is now
   entombed. As he was Bishop of Luçon, his statue stands outside the
   Luçon cathedral.

   Richelieu oversaw the construction of his own palace in Paris, the
   Palais-Cardinal. The palace, renamed the Palais Royal after Richelieu's
   death, now houses the French Constitutional Council, the Ministry of
   Culture, and the Conseil d'État. The architect of the Palais-Cardinal,
   Jacques Lemercier, also received a commission to build a château and a
   surrounding town in Indre-et-Loire; the project culminated in the
   construction of the Château Richelieu and the town of Richelieu. To the
   château, he added one of the largest art collections in Europe. Most
   notably, he owned Slaves (sculptures by the Italian Michelangelo
   Buonarroti), as well as paintings by Peter Paul Rubens, Nicolas Poussin
   and Titian.

Legacy

   Richelieu's tenure was a crucial period of reform for France. Earlier,
   the nation's political structure was largely feudalistic, with powerful
   nobles and a wide variety of laws in different regions. Parts of the
   nobility periodically conspired against the King, raised private
   armies, and allied themselves with foreign powers. This haphazard
   system gave way to centralized power under Cardinal Richelieu. Local
   and even religious interests were subordinated to those of the whole
   nation, and of the embodiment of the nation—the King. Equally critical
   for France was Richelieu's foreign policy, which helped restrain
   Habsburg influence in Europe. Richelieu did not survive until the end
   of the Thirty Years' War however, the conflict ended in 1648, with
   France emerging in a far better position than any other power, and the
   Holy Roman Empire entering a period of decline.

   Cardinal Richelieu's successes were extremely important to Louis XIII's
   successor, King Louis XIV. Louis XIV continued Richelieu's work of
   creating an absolute monarchy; in the same vein as the Cardinal, he
   enacted policies that further suppressed the once-mighty aristocracy,
   and utterly destroyed all remnants of Huguenot political power with the
   Edict of Fontainebleau. Moreover, Louis took advantage of his nation's
   success during the Thirty Years' War to establish French hegemony in
   continental Europe. Thus, Richelieu's policies were the requisite
   prelude to Louis XIV becoming the most powerful monarch, and France the
   most powerful nation, in all of Europe during the late seventeenth
   century.

   Richelieu is also notable for the authoritarian measures he employed to
   maintain power. He censored the press, established a large network of
   internal spies, forbade the discussion of political matters in public
   assemblies such as the Parlement de Paris (a court of justice), and had
   those who dared to conspire against him prosecuted and executed. The
   Canadian historian and philosopher John Ralston Saul has referred to
   Richelieu as the "father of the modern nation-state, modern centralised
   power [and] the modern secret service." The Cardinal's motives are the
   focus of much debate among historians; some see him as a patriotic
   supporter of the monarchy, whilst others view him as a power-hungry
   cynic. (Voltaire even argued that Richelieu started wars to make
   himself indispensable to the King.) The latter image gained further
   currency due to Alexandre Dumas's work of historical fiction, Les Trois
   Mousquetaires (The Three Musketeers). The novel depicts Richelieu as a
   power-hungry and avaricious minister. Many adaptations of Dumas' story
   portray Richelieu even more negatively.

   Despite such arguments, Richelieu remains an honoured personality in
   France, particularly for his stubborn refusal to let courtly intrigues
   and foreign interests dominate the government. He has given his name to
   a battleship and a battleship class. The French government planned to
   use his name for an aircraft carrier but the ship was finally named
   after Charles de Gaulle.

   His legacy is also important for the world at large—his ideas of a
   strong nation-state and aggressive foreign policy helped create the
   modern system of international politics. The notions of national
   sovereignty and international law can be traced, at least in part, to
   the policies and theories of Richelieu, especially as enunciated in the
   Treaty of Westphalia that ended the Thirty Years' War.

   One aspect of his legacy which has remained less renowned is his
   involvement with Samuel de Champlain, and his fledgling colony, along
   the St. Lawrence River. The retention and promotion of Québec under
   Richelieu allowed it — and through the settlement's strategic location,
   the St-Lawrence - Great Lakes gateway into the North American interior
   — to develop into a French empire in North America—parts of which would
   eventually become modern Canada and Louisiana.
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