Comparing Cardinal Richelieu's Practice of Ruler Ship to Niccòlo Machiavelli's Ideas About the Effective Exercise of Power

Some regard nineteenth century France to be the France of Napoléon Bonaparte and, in the same respect, it can be argued that ancien régime France was the France of Armand-Jean du Plessis de Richelieu. Upon entering the French political arena, Richelieu was thrown amidst the struggles of international diplomacy, the devious schemes of the nobility, and the disgruntlement of the common people. Similarly, the unstable Florentine Italy which Niccòlo Machiavelli familiarized himself with led both these prominent men to publish their respective works: The Prince by Machiavelli and The Political Testament of Cardinal Richelieu by Richelieu himself. By rejecting conventional morals, disregarding haughty ideals, and promoting ruthless tactics, The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli and The Political Testament became fundamental works in understanding realpolitik.# "L'etat - c'est moi,"# spoken by French king Louis XIV is an embodiment of Cardinal Richelieu's practice of ruler ship, as well as Machiavelli's theory on the necessity of centralizing power in order to establish a stable and secure state.# To achieve this great ascendancy and rule France in an effective manner, Richelieu focused on his foreign policy of challenging the Habsburg dynasty and domestically, centralizing power in France (and ultimately, laying the foundation for Absolutism in the early modern era.) Starting early in his political career, Richelieu's dealings with international statecraft highlight both the type of issues plaguing France in the early seventeenth century and the resources of determination and shrewdness which he organized to his advantage . His foreign policy of using diplomacy, backed by force only when necessary can be understood specifically through his dealings with the increasingly powerful Spanish-Austrian Habsburg family and furthermore, can be paralleled to Machiavelli's ideas on international diplomacy during times of war.# Prior to Richelieu's ascent to power, France was engaged

Bibliography: Bergin, Joseph. Cardinal Richelieu: Power and Pursuit of Wealth, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985). Machiavelli, Niccòlo. The Prince, trans. By George Bull (London: Penguin Books, 1961). Midlarsky, Manus. Terror to Genocide: Dimensions of International Influence. 2002: http://www.isanet.org/noarchive/midlarsky.html. Richelieu, Armand Jean du Plessis. The Political Testament of Cardinal Richelieu, trans. by Henry Bertram Hill (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1964). Treasure, G. R. R. Cardinal Richelieu and the Development of Absolutism (London: A and C. Black Ltd, 1972).