1.1 Richelieu

Question 1

They are reverse numbers

When was Richelieu cardinal from?

Answer 1

1624 to 1642

Question 2

What are four ways Richelieu increased the power of the French monarchy?

Answer 2

1. defeated Huguenot revolts through the edict of grace which weakened their power to revolt
2. increased and developed state propaganda (pamphlets glorifying Richelieu and royal opinion presented as fact)
3. Paris Parlement had its right to protest royal edicts removed
4. increased use of intendants in provinces

Question 3

What are 3 ways Richelieu infringed on parliamentary liberties?

Answer 3

1. handpicked the judges
2. intendants supervised judicial affairs and civil cases
3. sold government service jobs

Question 4

What were Richelieu’s 3 foreign policy ambitions?

Answer 4

1. weaken Habsburg power
2. take the province of Alsace
3. frustrate the ambitions of King Philip IV

Question 5

What were the 3 main problems Richelieu left behind in terms of religion?

Answer 5

1. series of Huguenot rebellions in the early 17th century, most notably the siege of La Rochelle
2. as a consequence of the siege, Richelieu partly redacted the edict of Nantes through the grace of Alais, stronghold worship could continue but they could no longer have courts, assemblies, fortresses, militia etc.
3. government and royal family members were opposed to the war and royal policies, gaston plotted Richelieu’s murder and Anne confessed to planning the same with her brother the cardinal in Spain

Question 6

What was the main problem Richelieu left behind in terms of politics?

Answer 6

Lots of plots against Richelieu that led to noble instability

• The day of the dupes in 1630 that saw Marie de Medici attempt to oust Richelieu
• The Cinq-Mars conspiracy
• Gaston and Anne’s attempt to be rid of Richelieu with Anne’s brother, the cardinal, in Spain

Question 7

What were the 6 main problems Richelieu left behind in terms of finance?

Answer 7

1. military cost was eating up state finances and the war was a disaster for the country- in 1643 it consumed 75% of annual expenditure
2. tax evasion was incredibly widespread
3. in an attempt to find money elsewhere, Richelieu took out incredibly high-interest loans (20-33%)
4. way too many government positions were sold to make cash which led to dishonesty (fermiers scraping off money for themselves) and they were exempt from the taille
5. Richelieu burnt old treasury accounts, stopping proper debt control
6. the tax system most heavily burdened those unable to pay and threatened civil war

Question 8

What were the main problems Richelieu left behind in terms of defence?

Answer 8

1. Richelieu’s army was not good enough to decisively defeat its enemies
   - they looted so much it left communities ravaged and women reportedly ate their own children
   - commanders were corrupt
   - French claimed territories but rarely dominated them
2. The year of Corbie in 1636 demonstrated France’s weakness

Question 9

What were the 4 main negative legacies of Richelieu?

Answer 9

1. Financial and social disorder
2. An unpopular and unwinnable war
3. Enormous debt
4. The foundations for aristocratic, parlement and mass revolt