7.1: France
- Page ID
- 172908
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The transformation of the French state from a conventional Renaissance-era monarchy to an absolute monarchy began under the reign of Louis XIII, the son of Henry IV (the victor of the French Wars of Religion). Louis XIII was eight-year-old when his father was assassinated in 1610. Thus, he was considered too young to rule, and his mother Marie de Medici held power as regent, one who rules in the name of the king. She enlisted the help of a brilliant French cardinal, Armand de Richelieu. After Marie de Medici stepped down as regent, Richelieu continued to be the king's chief minister.
Richelieu laid the foundation for absolutism in France. He suppressed various revolts against royal power led by nobles, and created a system of royal officials called Intendants, royal governors who were drawn from the mercantile classes. They collected royal taxes and oversaw administration and military recruitment in the regions to which they were assigned, and they did not have to answer to local lords.
Richelieu’s major focus was improving tax collection. To do so, he abolished three out of six regional assemblies that, traditionally, had the right to approve changes in taxation. Then, he became the superintendent of commerce and navigation, recognizing the growing importance of commerce in providing royal revenue. He managed to increase the revenue from the taille, the direct tax on land, almost threefold during his tenure (r. 1628 – 1642). That said, while he did curtail the power of the elite nobles, peasants bore the brunt of his improved techniques of taxation. Richelieu compared the peasants to mules, noting that they were only useful for working.
Richelieu was also a cardinal, one of the highest-ranking “princes of the church,” officially beholden only to the pope. However, his real focus was the French crown. It was said that he “worshiped the state” much more than he appeared to concern himself with his duties as a cardinal. For example, he supported the Ottoman Turks against the Habsburgs. Just to underline this point: a Catholic cardinal, Richelieu, supported Protestants and Muslims against a Catholic monarchy in the name of French power.
