Cardinal de Richelieu
At a glance:
- Series: Dictionary of World Biography: The 17th and 18th Centuries
- Categories: Government and Politics, Religion, Ethics, Diplomacy, International Relations, Foreign Affairs
- Subcategories: Politicians, Diplomats, Presidents, Prime Ministers, Priests, Ministers, Clergy, Nationalism
- Curriculum: Renaissance History, French History, 17th Century European History
Article abstract: As cardinal, prime minister, and head of the royal council of Louis XIII, Richelieu was the architect of centralized, absolutist government in France. In addition, his brilliant diplomacy in the Thirty Years’ War helped to make France the foremost power in Europe.
Early Life
Though he was to rise to be the most powerful person in France, Armand-Jean du Plessis, Cardinal de Richelieu, had relatively humble origins. As a result of a fortunate marriage, his family had risen to upper-middle-class status and had gained the seigneury...
[The entire page is 2879 words long]