Essay submitted by ljbrown@hotmail.com

Up 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.

Although King Louis XIII and Richelieu would eventually work together to create a politically dominant France, it is important to note that their relationship was not always as such. Prior to his roles as political advisor and Cardinal, Richelieu entered the queen mother's court by becoming the secretary of state during her regency. At this point, Richelieu would suffer a major upset in his political assent when Louis overthrew his mother's court and took political control of France in 1617 . Affiliation with the Queen Mother's court and suspected implication in attempted rebellions against Louis kept the future Cardinal in exile for a number of years. However, the Queen Mother and her son would eventually come to a temporary peace settlement, and when she was reinstated, so was Richelieu. More importantly, as advisor to the Queen Mother, Richelieu had shown a "political shrewdness and wisdom" that had gained Louis' favor . The king was willing to overlook Richelieu's earlier associations and an overbearing administrative style that he had once likened to tyranny, and appointed him to council in 1624. The Cardinal soon became the king's advisor through his ability to provide help in relation to conflicting religious and secular interests and his display of able political decisions. Although the king had provided the Richelieu with much political influence, he still had strong personal notions of where he wanted his state to go, and the characteristics of his advisors. 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. The resulting relationship entailed a respect of Richelieu's political ability by the King, and a respect of the King's authority by Richelieu. The result of this 'dual' respect was the ability of Richelieu to stay in power, and be able to influence the shaping of France into a dominant European state.

Richelieu also focused his attention on the types of people who were to fill ecclesiastic roles, especially the high church officials. It had been made obvious to Richelieu through past example, that the scandalous and flamboyant lives often lead by these church officials did little else than annoy the common public and thus endanger the stability of the state. Richelieu aimed to fill the church hierarchy with "persons of both merit and commendable habits" . This would not only 'cleanse' the church's image, but allow Richelieu to strategically place allies and supporters within the church hierarchy. The Cardinal employed this same strategy to gain supportive factions in both the military and civil offices.

When it came to the judiciary and finance officers, Richelieu attempted to dispell their perceived corruption through a strategic placement of allies who displayed more "merit" in office. Again, to forcefully establish crown dominance in the state, Richelieu would employ the use of state officials. The officials effectively carried out their role of executing government orders within the state, and using force to deal with any attempt to refuse them. The result was a successful enforcement of kingly authority over the states' provinces and king's subjects; the "commoners". In an attempt to set an example for the role of these commoners Richilie

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Approximate Word count = 2212
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)