Richelieu and Mazarin

Author: Treshurel
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-12-01
Features: Richelieu's rise to power is impressive, but each stage of his career can be explained through family connections and personal talent. In contrast, Mazarin seems to have a certain adventurer's aura, with considerable elements of chance, and he had to overcome various difficulties at every stage. This research primarily explores how Richelieu and Mazarin understood their roles, exercised power, and utilized it. However, to understand this, we must first examine their early environments and the different paths they took to gain power. Richelieu was primarily concerned with preserving his position domestically and leveraging the succession dispute in Mantua to establish French strongholds across the Alps. Thirteen years later, this Italian held an important position in the French Council of State. On his deathbed, Richelieu did not explicitly state that he wanted Mazarin—whom the French now called him—to succeed him as Prime Minister. However, he had recommended him to the king, saying that he was well-suited to handle complex diplomatic affairs and that he would ultimately achieve favorable results. Richelieu could not have known that Mazarin would, like him, serve for 18 years, nor could he have anticipated that he would exceed expectations and successfully establish France's dominance in Europe.