King de France (1610-1643).

Louis XIII is an ignored king: much less famous than his father, Henri IV, or than his son, Louis XIV, it moreover was eclipsed by the powerful personality of the cardinal of Richelieu, minister of exception in which it placed his confidence of 1624 to 1642.

The relative brevity of its life - Louis XIII did not have forty-two years when it died - and that of its effective reign make of it with the eyes of the traditional history a king of transition. It is however under its reign that many instruments of the power were created, that Mazarin and Louis XIV will use to make France the principal European power of their time.

Lastly, the personal role that Louis XIII played is far from being a minor, as many documents establish it which, until these last years, had been neglected by the historians.

Oldest son of Henri IV and Marie de Médicis, the Louis dolphin was born on on September 27th, 1601, with the castle of Fontainebleau. He was the first dolphin of France since 1559, date of the death of Henri II; also it accepted an education in conformity with the role which it was to occupy. However, as from 1604, Henri IV decided, against the opinion of Marie de Médicis, that the young boy would be high accompanied by his bastard brothers and sisters, that the king had had his mistresses Gabrielle d' Estrées and Henriette d' Entragues. Louis XIII had two brothers - Nicolas, who died in low age, and Gaston of Orleans -, and three sisters - Elisabeth, which became queen of Spain, Chrétienne, which was plain to the duke of Savoy, and Henriette-Marie, who married Charles I ^er of England.

The childhood of the future king is well-known thanks to the relations that made its doctor of it, Jean Héroard; studying the behavior of the young boy, Héroard traced the portrait of a sensitive, timid being of it stammered slightly -, even if it were conscious of his role and its preeminence on his brothers and sisters as on the noble ones who served it. Initiated by Henri IV with the role of sovereign, the Louis young person attended its first Council in 1609, upright between the legs of his father.

The assassination of Henri IV, on on May 14th, 1610, strongly tested the dolphin, which was very attached to him. At once, Marie de Médicis was declared rules over during the minority of the king, which confirmed a stop of the Parliament of Paris of May 15th, 1610. Louis XIII was crowned king in Rheims on on October 17th of this same year.

Spanish marriages

The main concern of the regent was to marry his children with powerful catholic parties. With the assistance of the Villeroy minister, the queen concluded the double Spanish marriage: on January 26th, 1612, it was announced that Louis XIII would marry Anne of Austria - Henri IV had wished itself the marriage of the dolphin with the infante -, and Elisabeth de France the future Philippe IV. The contract was signed on on August 25th, 1612, at the same time in Paris and Madrid; Louis XIII married Anne from Austria to Bordeaux on on November 28th, 1615.

Concini and the prince of Condé

The regent granted already all the favors to the marquis d' Ancre, Concino Concini, who was the husband of her confidante Leonora Galigaï. She promoted it marshal in 1613, whereas he had never directed the least troop, which exasperated the nobility as much as the people. Concini completed to waste the reserves accumulated under the government of Sully. This policy caused the first catch of weapons of Cop, who published in February 1614 a proclamation in which he claimed the meeting of the general states and the suspension of the marriages of the king and his s.ur. The half-brother of the king, César de Vendôme, united with noble dissatisfied, but the revolt was completed by the treaty of Holy-Menehould (May 15th, 1614), which suspended the marriage of Louis XIII while waiting to convene the general states. During the summer 1614, trying to attach her subjects to their new king, Marie de Médicis made visit in Louis XIII her provinces of the Loire and Brittany. Of return to Paris on on September 16th, 1614, Louis was declared major on on October 2nd, and it opened the general states on on October 27th.

The general states (October 27th, 1614 - February 23rd, 1615)

The states divided on the question of the reception of the Council of Thirty, that the clergy were alone to wish, the other orders, nobility and third state, remainder faithful to the gallicanism. On the other hand, they accepted the marriages concluded with Spain, which was the principal goal of the queen-mother. This meeting of the general states was the last before that of 1789. Louis XIII preferred the assemblies of notable to them: the first took place in Rouen in December 1617 and was to reorganize finances of the kingdom; the second - and the last before that of 1787 - place in 1627 had, and was again devoted to finances (repurchase of the fields, lowers pensions).

The second catch of weapons of Cop (1615-1616)

Marie de Médicis, who was not any more rules over, and her Concini favorite preserved the reality of the power, while the decisions of the general states had dissatisfied part of the nobility, which denounced the Spanish marriages like factors of discord within the kingdom, since these unions could only worry the Protestants. Also, in August 1615, Henri de Condé raised themselves again, and rejoined with him the Protestants, directed by the duke Henri de Rohan; whereas the king went to Bordeaux to accommodate the new queen there, Anne of Austria, Condé seemed to want to seize itself of the king. But the prince preferred to conclude peace: on May 3rd, 1616, the treaty of Loudun confirmed the edict of Nantes and granted loads and pensions to prince de Condé. The favor of this last hardly lasted, since it was stopped the next on on September 1st, and was released only on on October 20th, 1619.

The assassination of Concini (April 24th, 1617)

The power of Concini and Marie de Médicis was however fragile. The Masters of the moment was very unpopular, and Concini attracted itself soon the hatred of the king. Louis XIII then found as a Charles of Albert de Luynes its first support, then managed to join together some faithful; together, they solved to seize the marshal, to even assassinate it. On April 24th, 1617, Concini was stopped by the marquis of Vitry whereas it entered Louvre, and was cut down at once by its men-at-arms; the woman of Concini was stopped, condemned to died on on July 8th next, and carried out at once. The very same day of the assassination of Concini, Louis XIII returned the Ministers for the marshal of Anchor, among which the bishop of Luçon, future cardinal of Richelieu. On the order of the king, on on May 3rd, 1617, the queen-mother was assigned with residence in Blois, while the bishop of Luçon was exiled in Avignon (April 7th, 1618). Thus, the assassination of Concini constituted a true takeover by force and marked the beginning of the effective reign of Louis XIII.

Louis XIII was pressed then on the ministers of his father: Villeroy, of Squirrel fur, Brûlart de Sillery, president Jeanin. It was however in search of a man who could ensure the power.

Luynes, favorite of the king

The king continued to grant his favor to Luynes, which it filled of gifts, honors and loads: this one accepted all the goods of the marshal of Anchor after his assassination, was done first gentleman of the room, duke and par; finally, it obtained the sword of constable on on March 31st, 1621, before leaving to shift against the Protestants. Luynes allowed moreover his/her own parents and friends to reach high positions the, without them showing a real competence in the loads which they obtained; thus, one of the brothers of Luynes, Cadenet, became Marshal of France in 1619 and member of the Council of the king. However, Luynes never accepted any ministerial position.

Wars of the Mother and the Son (1619-1620)

In Blois, Marie de Médicis started to intrigue against her son; she could escape from the castle in the night from Friday to; she went then to Angouleme, stronghold of the duke of Epernon, of which she had received the support. The king, seeking to negotiate, recalled of his exile the bishop of Luçon, which always had the favor of the queen and seemed able to avoid the confrontation. In March 1619, Richelieu thus went at Marie de Médicis and could negotiate for it the treaty of Angouleme (April 30th, 1619) by which the queen-mother obtained the government of Anjou in return for Normandy, without however being able to be allocated to the Council. In October 1619, release of prince de Condé - who meant the judgment of the policy of Marie de Médicis when it was regent, since Condé had been stopped under Concini - was at the origin of the second war of the Mother and the Son. The queen-mother accepted the support of part of the nobility, of which Vendôme, half-brothers of the king, and the duke of Morello cherry, as well as Protestants grouped around the duke of Rohan and his Soubise brother. On August 7th, 1620 proceeded close to Angers the “drollness to Bridge-of-It”, during which the armies of the king demolished those of the queen-mother easily. On August 10th, a new treaty was signed, which confirmed that of Angouleme; moreover, the king authorized his mother to be allocated to the Council and committed himself obtaining from the pope the cardinalat for the bishop of Luçon.

Wars of Louis XIII against the Protestants (1620-1629)

In 1620, the assembled Protestants with Loudun asked for the cancellation of the restitution of the goods of the clergy of Béarn; that determined Louis XIII to intervene militarily against their party.

Campaigns of 1620-1622

As of October, the king made sure of Pau, and replaced there the sovereign Council by a Parliament. In November, it prohibits to the Protestants to be assembled, which involved them to take the weapons. On May 16th, 1621, the king then made put the seat in front of Saint-Jean-in Angély, defended by Soubise; the city went on on June 24th. Then Luynes put the seat in front of Montauban, which it could not take (August - November 18th, 1621), the city being strongly strengthened and defended well by the middle-class militia. The constable then decided to tackle the place of Monheur, in front of which he died of disease on on December 15th, 1621. The new campaign began in March 1622. The king subjected Royan like many small rebellious cities, among which Mount-of-Marsan, Acute-Dead and Nègrepelisse, whose population was massacred on on June 10th, in reprisals of the massacre of the made garrison the previous year. The royal army did not manage to take Montpellier, and peace was signed in this city on on November 2nd, 1622; it confirmed the edict of Nantes - but the Protestants were to demolish the fortifications of several their places of safety -, and it subjected the political assemblies of Huguenot to the authorization of the king.

The seat of the La Rochelle (September 10th, 1627 - October 28th, 1628)

La Rochelle remained the principal place of safety of the Protestants. However, during the summer 1627, the refusal by the king to demolish the strong Louis, with the immediate surroundings of the city, pushed Rochelais to call upon the English, who wished for their part to counter Richelieu in his policy of creation of a powerful navy. On July 21st, the English of the duke of Buckingham unloaded in the Ile de Ré, but ran up against a specialist in the seats, Toiras, which defended the fort of Saint Martin's day. Their position with Ré made it possible to the English to supply La Rochelle, but they were driven out island November 8th and 9th.

The seat of the La Rochelle had begun as of on on September 10th. The army of the king not managing to invest the place, one had recourse to engineers, that the king charged with building dams out of wooden or stone. Louis XIII and Richelieu directed in person military operations and the surrounding of the port. After two English fleets sent to the help of the La Rochelle had failed in their mission in addition to, Buckingham was assassinated on on September 2nd, 1628 -, the city ends up going to the king, who accepted the maintenance of the reformed worship but made exile the Protestant chiefs; the walls were shaven.

The peace of Went (June 27th, 1629)

After an ultimate revolt of the duke of Rohan, in 1629, the catch of Deprived, on on May 26th, marked the end of the Protestant rebellions it city was repressed hard, most of its inhabitants was massacred, and the king prohibits to them to return to be established there without his authorization. On June 27th, 1629, the Protestants obtained from the king an edict of grace, known as peace of Went (or of Ales), actually emitted in Nimes, which took again the edict of Nantes but removed from now on in Huguenot the their places of safety; the duke of Rohan was amnestied but was to exile himself. The peace of Went thus devotes the end of the Huguenot party as “a State in the State”, with its own military organization.

The return of Richelieu to the Council (1624)

The cardinal of Richelieu had skilfully known to operate to become essential at the same time with the queen-mother and his son. The disgrace which struck Brûlart it father was chancellor and his/her son, the marquis de Puisieux, secretary of foreign affairs - in January - February 1624 left the place with Vieuville, which followed a more active policy, in particular in the business of Valteline and with the alliance of France in the United Provinces by the treaty of Compiegne (June 10th, 1624). But Louis XIII solved to demolish himself of his minister, whom he showed not to take account of his decisions, and made it imprison in Amboise, which opened the way with the cardinal of Richelieu, who entered to the Council on on August 13th, 1624. Soon, the cardinal had to face a nobility dissatisfied with the authority which it had on the king.

Conspiracy of Chalais (1626)

A first plot took place in 1626: part of the nobility refused the marriage of Mister with Marie de Montpensier, allied of the house of Own way. For the party known as “of the aversion to the marriage”, it was there to run the risk, if Louis XIII died without heir, to see the Own way dominating Gaston become king. Anne of Austria was opposite it also with the marriage of Sir, who would have reduced his role. The conspiracy was carried out by Marie de Rohan-Montbazon, duchess of Chevreuse, which pushed Mister to refuse the marriage and to leave the court, which amounted entering in rebellion against the king. The sanctions were severe: the two half-brothers of the king, César and Alexandre de Vendôme, were imprisoned in Vincennes, from where César left only in 1630 and where Alexandre died; Henri de Talleyrand-Périgord, count de Chalais, who had projected to assassinate Richelieu, was condemned to died for lese-majesty on on August 18th, 1626 and decapitated the following day; the duchess of Chevreuse had to exile herself in Lorraine; Gaston, that the king could not punish as long as he was the heir to the throne, married Marie de Montpensier on on August 6th, 1626, obtained the duchy of Orleans, 560 000 pounds of annual pension and 100 000 ecus of revenue.

A nobility rebels

The duels, which were prohibited by the law, remained one of the traditions to which the noble ones were attached, and caused many deaths among them; the king wanted to finish some with this practice while making pronounce by the judges of the exemplary sorrows, often death, sometimes even by hanging, which was offensive for noble. On July 31st, 1626, Louis XIII ordered whom are demolished the fortifications established inside the kingdom, in order to secure against new revolts of the nobility. Always anxious to affirm his own power with the detriment of large of the kingdom, Louis XIII removed the load of constable to the death of Lesdiguières (1626).

The code Michau (1628)

Thus named starting from the first name of the Michel, Minister of Justice de Marillac, the code Michau (1628) made it possible noble to be devoted to business enterprises and maritime without derogating - i.e. without losing their quality of noble, the trade being regarded by them as an unworthy occupation. In same time, it authorized the ennoblement of the commoners who devoted themselves with success to these companies, which started a fundamental upheaval in the social structures of the Former regime.

The Day of Dupes (November 11th, 1630)

From 1624 to 1630, Louis XIII shared the power with Richelieu and Marie de Médicis. However, the intrigues of the queen-mother, related to the devout party and constant with the Council by the chancellor Michel de Marillac and the cardinal of Bérulle, involved the setting away from Richelieu of the business of the queen - Richelieu was indeed his superintendent. The crisis culminated in the Day of Dupes (November 11th, 1630), during which Louis XIII sliced in favor of his minister; it made stop the chancellor the following day, then drew aside his mother of the Council.

Plots of the brother of the king

Dear Sir, hostile with the policy of Richelieu, took refuge in Lorraine then in the Netherlands; he published a proclamation against the cardinal (May 30th, 1631), and obtained the support of Henri de Montmorency; Languedoc, whose this last was the governor, entered in dissidence and armed itself against the king. The troops of the marshal of Schomberg overcame the insurrectionists on on September 1st, 1632 with Castelnaudary. Morello cherry, seriously wounded, was made prisoner; judged in Toulouse, he was condemned there in died and carried out on on October 30th, 1632, while Mister fled again in the Netherlands, from where he returned only in 1634. In 1636, he conspired again, this time with the count de Soissons - who was killed at the time of the battle of Marfée (July 6th, 1641) during which the rebels had overcoming the royal troops; Soissons undoubtedly died by accident, whereas it raised the visor of its helmet using its gun.

Conspiracy of Five-March (1642)

The king had a new favorite in the person of Henri d' Effiat, marquis of Five-March. This one believed to understand that Louis XIII wished to separate from Richelieu, without however being able to make the decision to draw aside his minister it is certain that at this time, the relations between Louis XIII and Richelieu had become difficult. Five-March thus solved to make return Richelieu, to even assassinate it. But its conspiracy was discovered, either by a spy of the cardinal at the court of Madrid, the baron de Pujols, or denounced by the queen. Five-March and its friend François de Thou were carried out in Lyon on on September 12th, 1642. The king, however, reconciled himself only imperfectly with his minister, who still imposed the reference of Troisville to him, captain of the musketeers with horse, which he showed to have been in connection with Five-March.

Although brother-in-law of king d' Espagne, Louis XIII had like primary goal as regards foreign policy the fight against Habsbourg. He followed in that Richelieu, against the devout party which supported the opposite option of fight against the Protestant States.

The business of Italy

The first crisis which Louis XIII had to solve, as from 1621, related to Valteline, an alpine valley of Italy who constituted a strategic crossing point between the Spanish possessions of the Milanese and those of Habsbourg of Vienna. The League of Paris joins together France, Venice and Savoy, which sought to put an end to the claims of Habsbourg like pope to control the valley. After the failure of diplomatic operations made complex by the multiplicity of the stakes, including monk, the takeover by force of Annibal d' Estrées, marquis de Coeuvres it father of one of the mistresses of Henri IV, Gabrielle d' Estrées - drove out the pontifical troops of the valley (1625) and leads to the treaty of Monçon (1626), by which Spain committed itself respecting the independence of Valteline.

In 1630, the question of the succession of Mantoue pushed Louis XIII again to intervene in Italy, Impériaux and Spanish not recognizing the rights of Charles de Gonzague, duke of Nevers, combined of Louis XIII. On March 6th, 1629, Louis XIII gained the victory of Not-of-SuSE; at the time of one second countryside, Richelieu seized the powerful place of Pignerol (March 29th, 1630), while Louis XIII subjected Savoy. But the catch of Mantoue by the Imperial ones and a form of fever which failed to be fatal to Louis XIII urged the French to conclude a truce - during the negotiation was distinguished Giulio Mazarini, which was the envoy of the pope: in return for the restitution of its States to the duke of Savoy, Mazarin obtained the departure of the Spanishs of Montferrat. By the treaties of Cherasco (1631), the duke of Nevers recovered the duchy of Mantoue, Spain evacuated Valteline, and France obtained the transfer of Pignerol. However, France lost the support of the Grisons and was driven out of Valteline in 1637, which constituted a serious reverse, while at the same time it had entered the Thirty Year old war.

With the death of Gustave-Adolphe of Sweden to the battle of Lützen (1632), France lost its principal asset in the Thirty Year old war, to which it had up to that point avoided taking share. France then sought to guard itself against the armies which warred in Germany, and to prevent the emperor from carrying help to the Spanishs from the point of view of the war between Paris and Madrid. Also, in August 1633, Louis XIII solved to seize Lorraine, whose duke, Charles IV, opposed his policy. Nancy was taken on on September 25th, and Charles IV abdicated, but his/her brother took the head of the house of Lorraine, which continued the diplomatic fight since its exile. In 1641, Charles IV recognized itself vassal of Louis XIII, who restored his States to him, except for Nancy, occupied by the royal troops. The duke of Lorraine betrays at once to take part in the plot of the count de Soissons.

The Thirty Year old war

After the defeat of the Swedes with Nördlingen, on on September 6th, 1634, France was forced to enter in war against Habsbourg. Sweden, the Protestant princes of the evangelic Union and France signed a treaty on on November 1st, 1634, which regulated their joint intervention against Habsbourg. It made it possible France to occupy at once most of Alsace. France declared the war in Spain on on May 19th, 1635.

The French lost Corbie on on August 16th, 1636, at the end of a very short seat - Louis XIII made condemn Soyecourt, which had given without fighting the place with the Spanishs. Corbie was taken again as of the next on on November 10th. The catch of Brisach, on on December 19th, 1638, removed with Imperial and the Spanishs the control of a strategic road of Germany towards the Netherlands. On January 23rd, 1641, revolted Catalonia made of Louis XIII the count of Barcelona, which constituted an importance victory over Philippe IV. After having taken Collioure (April 13th, 1642), the French took Perpignan at the end a length and cruel seat (April 23rd - September 9th). The king, whose health was staggering, gave up taking part in military operations, which it consequently followed from Saint-Germain or Versailles.

The marriage of Louis XIII was marked by the difficulty which marries it tested the king to accept generally preferred his friendships of hunting or military campaigns that the company of Anne of Austria -, and by the influences that the policy, as well foreign as interior, exerted on the relations of the royal husbands. Thus, Anne of Austria corresponded secretly during four years with Spain this that Louis XIII forgave him in August 1637 - and was implied in the conspiracy of Chalais - which she denounced.

The absence of dolphin complicated during all its reign the task of Louis XIII. In 1637, it was committed placing its kingdom under the protection of the Virgin this whom one calls “the wish of Louis XIII”. On September 5th, 1638, at the end of twenty-three years of marriage, was born the dolphin, Louis-Dieudonné, future Louis XIV.

After the death of Richelieu (December 4th, 1642), Louis XIII continued his policy while making enter Mazarin to the Council. Seeing his very reduced health, the king organized his succession; he accepted an ultimate tender of his Gaston brother on on January 13th, 1643, then instituted the Council of regency on on April 20th, 1643. Anne of Austria was declared rules over, Mazarin chief of the Council, the Séguier chancellor, Bouthillier and Chavigny, of the creatures of Richelieu, having from now on the rank of ministers of state.

Louis XIII died on Thursday, May 14, 1643, thirty-three years exactly after his father.