Cardinal Richelieu

Introduction
Heritage, birth, and youth
Early career in the church
Rise to power
First minister of France
Later years in the church
Legacy

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Full-length portrait of Cardinal Richelieu by Philippe de Champaigne, showing him in red clerical robes holding a red book, standing beside a balustrade with a draped curtain behind.

At a Glance

Cardinal Richelieu summary

Related Questions

How did Cardinal Richelieu’s family rise from minor feudal origins?
How did Marie de Médicis help Richelieu begin his political career?
How did Richelieu become Louis XIII’s principal minister in 1624?
How did Richelieu blockade La Rochelle from both land and sea?
How did Richelieu deal with revolts by French nobles?
How did Richelieu encourage French manufacturing and economic self-sufficiency?
How did Richelieu gain attention at the Estates-General of 1614?
How did Richelieu help lay the foundations of the French navy?
How did Richelieu try to weaken the Habsburgs during the Thirty Years’ War?
How did Richelieu use a security organization to uncover conspiracies?
How did Richelieu’s policies help prepare the way for the stronger monarchy of Louis XIV?
How did Richelieu’s relationship with Louis XIII shape French government?
How did increased taxes cause provincial rebellions in France during the 1630s?
How did the Cinq-Mars conspiracy threaten Richelieu near the end of his life?
How did the Edict of Nantes give the Huguenots military power?
How did the Habsburg dynasty threaten France’s independence and security?
How did the Peace of Alais change the rights and military power of the Huguenots?
How did the Treaty of Angoulême help Richelieu return to power?
How long did Cardinal Richelieu serve as chief minister to Louis XIII?
How long did the Siege of La Rochelle last?
What did the Treaty of Bärwalde require France to provide to Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden?
What did the rebel slogans about the gabelle and taille reveal about popular attitudes toward the king?
What happened during the Day of the Dupes in 1630?
What were the terms of the Peace of Alais of 1629?
When did Richelieu become a cardinal?
When was Cardinal Richelieu born and when did he die?
Where was Cardinal Richelieu buried?
Which government offices did Richelieu hold in 1616?
Which regions did French forces occupy before Richelieu’s death?
Who was Gaston, duc d’Orléans, and why did he oppose Richelieu?
Why did Armand-Jean du Plessis enter the church instead of pursuing a military career?
Why did English fleets fail to relieve La Rochelle during the siege?
Why did France enter direct war against the Habsburgs in 1635?
Why did French government spending rise sharply between 1620 and 1640?
Why did Louis XIII continue to support Richelieu after the Day of the Dupes?
Why did Richelieu consider the Huguenots a political threat to France?
Why did Richelieu fight against the Catholic Habsburgs while supporting Protestant powers?
Why did Richelieu involve France in the War of the Mantuan Succession?
Why did Richelieu lay siege to La Rochelle?
Why did Richelieu seek to strengthen royal authority in France?
Why did Richelieu subsidize Gustavus Adolphus during the Thirty Years’ War?
Why was Henri de Talleyrand, comte de Chalais, executed in 1626?
Why was Richelieu exiled after the palace revolution of 1617?
Why were the provincial rebellions of the 1630s not a revolutionary threat to the French monarchy?
Why is Samuel de Champlain significant?
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External Websites

Victoria University in the University of Toronto - Centre for Renaissance and Reformation Studies - Cardinal de Richelieu
Social Science LibreTexts - France and Cardinal Richelieu

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Cardinal Richelieu - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Cardinal Richelieu

French cardinal and statesman

Also known as: Armand-Jean du Plessis, cardinal et duc de Richelieu, l’Éminence Rouge, the Red Eminence(Show More)

Written by

Daniel Patrick O'Connell

Chichele Professor of International Law, University of Oxford, 1972–79. Author of Richelieu and others.

Daniel Patrick O'Connell

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

History

Cardinal Richelieu (born September 9, 1585, Poitou or Paris, France—died December 4, 1642, Paris) was the chief minister to King Louis XIII of France from 1624 to 1642. His major goals, which he largely accomplished, were the establishment of royal absolutism in France and the end of Spanish-Habsburg hegemony in Europe. The family du Plessis de Richelieu was of insignificant feudal origins but, by intermarriage with the legal and administrative classes, rose to some prominence...

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