The Architect of Absolutism: Cardinal Richelieu

In 1610, Henri IV was assassinated in Paris by a monk who thought him too tolerant of Protestants and who was angered by Henri IV's plans to wage war against Catholic Spain. Henri's successor, King Louis XIII, was only a boy and thus too young to rule. When this had happened in the past, the king's mother would take the title of Regent and run the government until the king became an adult. In this case, authority to rule in the name of the king was granted to a high-ranking nobleman who also held an influential position in the Church, the Cardinal Richelieu.

Richelieu more than any other figure in French politics believed in the need to consolidate power in the hands of the king to achieve stability within the kingdom.

The primary targets of his policies were the land-owning, military nobles, whose power he diminished by abolishing some of the regional assemblies and replacing their role as regional governments with officials appointed directly by Richelieu called intendants. These intendants were generally robe nobles; in their new offices, they were answerable directly to Richelieu who chose them for their ability to handle finances and for their loyalty to his government.