Armand-Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Duc de Richelieu, and Giulio Mazzarino, Cardinal Mazarin, respectively first ministers of France from 1624 to 1642 and 1643 to 1661, might seem the personification of early modern statesmanship. Undoubtedly some of the political achievements with which they were traditionally credited now appear anachronistic and questionable, such as the creation of Bourbon ‘absolutism’, the empowering of the secular nation-state or the establishment of a European system of collective security. Yet if statesmanship is essentially about articulating and building support to achieve clear and consistent political goals, then the cardinal-ministers still figure strongly. Their political goals were chiefly dynastic: both Richelieu and Mazarin represented themselves as servants of their kings and of the family policy of the House of Bourbon. The aggressive pursuit of dynastic advantage was nonetheless accompanied by a broader appeal to the public interest, with a particular concern for French territorial security. Pointing to a Habsburg ‘encirclement’ of France by territories governed from Madrid and Vienna, the cardinals articulated and pursued policies which not only sought the glory of the Bourbon monarchy, but also aimed to roll back the supposed threat to France posed by Habsburg ambitions.

Central to building a reputation for statesmanship was their status as ‘first ministers’. Richelieu enjoyed the unmediated favour and support of Louis XIII; Mazarin that of his widow and Regent, Anne of Austria, and subsequently the young Louis XIV. Both ministers exercised a virtual monopoly of influence in determining policy. The other government ministers were their subordinates, and in many cases their appointees, and in no position to compete in offering an alternative perspective on policy. In this respect, Richelieu and Mazarin shared much in common with their Spanish counterparts and opponents, Gaspar de Gúzman, the Count-Duke of Olivares, and his successor from 1643, Don Luis de Haro. All four built their predominance on an ability to combine official positions with what was effectively the status of royal favourite, and by doing so gained a remarkable degree of political initiative.