Richelieu

Born into a family very loyal to the crown, Armande du Plessis de Richelieu, fatherless, but cherished by an attentive mother, experienced the insecurity of a troubled time. However, he benefited from the protection of King Henri IV. When peace returned, and his older brother having refused to remain bishop of Luçon, the young man was obliged to take holy orders. Despite his young age, in Rome, at the age of twenty-two, he received the crosier and the miter. Back in Luçon, Richelieu was bored there and dreamed of serving in a larger theater. Finally, having distinguished himself as a deputy of the clergy, during the meeting of the States-General of 1614, he was called to the capital, where the queen mother, Marie de Medici, made the doors of the Royal Council open to him, despite the reluctance of King Louis XIII...

In 1616, Richelieu reappears as the bishop of the Madernie of Monsieur de Inel. As a man seeking influence at court, he must also be able to ride a horse, shoot, and court ladies, even as a member of the clergy. As the confidant of Marie de’ Medici, he is now able to do all this with excellence — and much more. For the moment, he relies on Maria and not on her son, King Louis, who has been declared of age but left without a will. Richelieu seeks to overthrow Louis’s favourites. Nevertheless, his calculations do not hold.

As contemporary chroniclers report, the Duke of Buckingham fell madly in love with the Queen of France, Anita, and swore that he would make his way to her in Paris. He therefore began by besieging the Huguenot stronghold of La Rochelle on the Atlantic with his fleet. In reality, however, tangible political and economic interests lay behind this action: the English feared for their position in Europe and for their maritime supremacy because of France’s rise under Richelieu.

November 10, 1630 entered history as the “Day of the Dupes.” Marie de’ Medici, no longer Richelieu’s confidante and ally but now his worst enemy, attempted to overthrow him and raise her favourite, Marillac, to power. But the plot backfired. Louis turned against his mother.

Father Joseph is on a secret mission for Richelieu. The King of Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus, receives financial support for his struggle against the Emperor, and Wallenstein is promised the throne of Bohemia. Richelieu, who had long sought to weaken the supremacy of the Habsburgs, now faces his toughest confrontation yet with Spain. The capture of the Elector of Trier, who was under French protection, forces France to rise to the challenge. Thus France enters the Thirty Years’ War.

The Thirty Years’ War brought France significant territorial gains, but within the country the tax burden increased, deepening poverty and popular discontent. Richelieu also provoked strong opposition among the nobility, whose privileges he greatly reduced by strengthening the king’s absolute authority. Several plots were directed against him. The Cinq-Mars conspiracy, led by a royal favourite who had in fact been promoted by Richelieu himself, was the final attempt to overthrow him, but it failed. Richelieu died at the height of his power on December 4, 1642, of natural causes. Mazarin, also a cardinal, succeeded him.