frances monarchy
The Accomplishments of Cardinal RichelieuEssay submitted by ljbrown@hotmail.comUp until the mid 17th century, it was evident that France was by no means a major player in the field of European affairs. Spain was still the most powerful state as it held a dominant monopoly over European commerce and economics. However, by 1648, this power would shift, and France would come into it's own in terms of political and economic influence. The transfer of power was aided by a weakening of the Spanish Empire, along with the establishment of an increasingly strong French state. This establishment of France would begin to occur prior to the religious wars, and would be spearheaded by a strengthening of the centralized government through the development of royal absolutism. The most significant contributor to this movement was Cardinal Armand du Plessis de Richelieu, political advisor to the king, Louis XIII, and head of the French Roman Catholic Church. The Cardinal's capable leadership, ambition and strong will fortified France's move from a second rate country to a European powerhouse. During his reign as first minister, Richelieu would accomplish numerous tasks, and establish himself as a symbol of power and leadership in France.
This religious lenience reflects the Cardinal's priorities of state in his search for political stability, something which religious dispute and conflict had shown to disrupt in the past. The resulting relationship entailed a respect of Richelieu's political ability by the King, and a respect of the King's authority by Richelieu. Even before he had become first minister, Richelieu recognized the need for change in the governing of French affairs. Some of the major land-holding aristocrats had grown particularly powerful and independent. Richelieu also focused his attention on the types of people who were to fill ecclesiastic roles, especially the high church officials. Richelieu's first issue, to deal with Religious conflict or threat, was focused mainly on the Huguenots. Richelieu would instead encourage the king's subjects to take a greater interest in the military rather than the luxuries of education. Richelieu responded to this and other conflicts by defeating the rebels, using the King's forces, and executing the participants. Richelieu's second focus area was the aristocrats, a class which he saw as an important organ of the state "capable of contributing much to it's preservation and stability". Once he had become first minister, Richelieu set out to eliminate these weaknesses in order to create a more stable French state. Part of the Cardinal's success was due to his ability to conform to the king's ideas, and at the same time execute a strong influence over council. It had become obvious to the Cardinal, that a lack of enforcement of centralized power, on the part of the French government, had allowed the French nobles to develop a sense of defiance towards the crown. His decade long assent provided him with the education needed to maintain an 18 year reign (until his death in 1642) which would see the beginnings of French dominance in Europe. This proved to be extremely useful during the course of the ensuing religious wars which would see France come out victorious over a declining Spanish empire. Through this thorough and methodical defeat of the aristocracy, the Cardinal effectively established King Louis as the sole symbol of power in France.
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