Editing Louis XIII (section)

==Ministry of Cardinal Richelieu, 1624–1642==
{{further|Cardinal Richelieu#Chief minister}}
[[File:Louis XIII (crowned by victory).jpg|thumbnail|''Louis XIII Crowned by Victory (Siege of La Rochelle, 1628)'', [[Philippe de Champaigne]], [[musée du Louvre]]]]

Cardinal Richelieu played a major role in Louis XIII's reign from 1624, determining France's direction over the course of the next eighteen years. As a result of Richelieu's work, Louis XIII became one of the first examples of an [[Absolute monarchy|absolute monarch]]. Under Louis and Richelieu, the crown [[Thirty Years' War#French intervention and continued Swedish participation (1635&ndash;1648)|successfully intervened]] in the [[Thirty Years' War]] against the Habsburgs, managed to keep the French nobility in line, and retracted the political and military privileges granted to the Huguenots by Henry IV (while maintaining their religious freedoms). Louis XIII successfully led the important [[Siege of La Rochelle]]. In addition, Louis had the port of [[Le Havre]] modernised, and he built a powerful navy.

Louis also worked to reverse the trend of promising French artists leaving for Italy to work and study. He commissioned the painters [[Nicolas Poussin]] and [[Philippe de Champaigne]] to decorate the [[Louvre Palace]]. In foreign matters, Louis organised the development and administration of [[New France]], expanding its settlements westward along the [[Saint Lawrence River]] from [[Quebec City]] to [[Montreal]].