RICHELIEU, ARMAND JEAN DU PLESSIS, CARDINAL, DUC DE, a French statesman; born of a noble but impoverished family in Paris, Sept. 5, 1585.
Richelieu was educated for the army, but abandoned a military career for the Church, in order to keep in the family the bishopric of Lucon, to which he was consecrated at 22. Representative of the Poitou clergy at the States-general in 1614, he attracted the notice of the queen mother, and rose in 1616 to be secretary at war and foreign affairs; but the down fall of Marshal d'Ancre, the queen-re gent's favorite, in April, 1617, sent him back to his diocese. At length in August, 1620, the queen-mother and the young king were reconciled, mainly through the agency of the celebrated Capuchin Father Joseph—"l'eminence grise" of later days, till his death in 1638, the intimate friend of Richelieu. The latter showed much tact and patient forbearance in his measures; he formed an alliance with the powerful Duc de Luynes, and in 1622 was named cardinal, in 1624 Minister of State. This position he retained to the end of his life, in spite of countless court in trigues, and ere long the most powerful open and secret opposition from the queen, Gaston, Duke of Orleans, and a host of minor intriguers, first among whom was the too famous Duchesse de Chevreuse.
His first important measure was the blow to Spain of an alliance with Eng land, cemented by the betrothal (1625) of the king's sister, Henrietta, with Charles, then Prince of Wales. In the Valtelline War he cleared the country of the Spanish and papal troops, but was unable to pursue his advantage, and had to submit to the terms of the peace of Monzon (1626). His next task was to destroy the political power of the Hugue not party. After a 15 months' siege, which he conducted in person, concentrat ing all his energy on the task, the great stronghold of La Rochelle was starved into submission, Oct. 30, 1628. He next turned to crush Rohan and the Langue doc rebels, and destroyed the proud walls of Montauban, last refuge of Huguenot independence. Early in 1630 he entered Italy with a splendid army, himself in command, and soon reduced Savoy to sub mission. Meanwhile he plunged into dark
and tortuous intrigues with the Italian princes, the Pope, and with the Protes tants in the N. against the House of Austria. He promised a large subsidy to Gustavus Adolphus, and, through the masterly diplomacy of Father Joseph at the Ratisbon Diet in June, 1630, succeeded in persuading Ferdinand to dismiss Wal lenstein. The first treaty of Cherasco (April, 1631), ended the Italian war, the second gave France the important stra tegic position of Pinerolo.
Just before this final triumph Riche lieu had successfully surmounted the greatest danger of his life—a great com bination formed for his downfall by the queen-mother, Gaston of Orleans, the House of Guise, Bassompierre, Crequi, and the Marillacs. She tried to bully the king by her violence, but Richelieu fol lowed his master to Versailles, and again had the whole power of the realm placed entirely in his hands. So ended "the Day of Dupes" (Nov. 11, 1630). The queen mother fled to Brussels, Bassompierre went to the Bastille, Gaston fled to Lor raine. The cardinal was now made duke and peer, and Governor of Brittany. Fur ther intrigues and attempted rebellions by the emigrant nobles and governors of provinces were crushed with merciless severity—Marillac and Montmorency and other nobles were sent to the block. Mean time Gustavus Adolphus had run his brief and brilliant course; and his death at Liitzen removed an ally with whom it might have become difficult to reckon. In July, 1632, Richelieu had seized the duchy of Lorraine. He continued his intrigues with the Protestants against Ferdinand, subsidizing them with his gold, but till 1635 he took no open part in the war. In May of that year, after completing his preparations and concluding a close alli ance with Victor Amadeus of Savoy, Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar, and the Dutch, he declared war on Spain, and at once placed in the field an army of 132,000 men. But his first efforts were singularly unsuccessful, and in 1636 Piccolomini and the Cardinal-Infante, Governor of the Netherlands, entered Picardy, crossed the Somme, and threatened Paris itself.