The Accomplishments of Cardinal Richelieu Essay submitted by ljbrown@hotmail.com Up until the mid 17th century, it was evident that France was by no means a major player in the field of European affairs. Spain was still the most powerful state as it held a dominant monopoly over European commerce and economics. However, by 1648, this power would shift, and France would come into it’s own in terms of political and economic influence. The …showed first 75 words of 2238 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2238 total…in his inability to stabilize the French Economy, which would spiral upward during his reign, and ultimately become the country’s downfall in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Despite this, it is clearly the political ability, ambition and will of Cardinal Richelieu that would allow him to mold France into a political and cultural "model" for the rest of Europe and earn him the respect of historians and contemporaries as "a true man of destiny" .