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French History Advance Access originally published online on November 15, 2007
French History 2007 21(4):377-394; doi:10.1093/fh/crm053
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for the Study of French History. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

France’s Grotian moment? Hugo Grotius and Cardinal Richelieu’s commercial statecraft

Erik Thomson*

* The author is a Harper Fellow in the Society of Fellows in the Liberal Arts at the University of Chicago

Correspondence: He may be contacted at ethomson{at}uchicago.edu.


  Abstract

Cardinal Richelieu's commercial projects have long been seen as a part of his early efforts to reform the French state. This paper argues that Richelieu's commercial activity can more profitably be viewed in the context of his thinking about relations between France and its neighbours and of a pan-European movement to reconsider the connections among commerce, governance and sovereignty spawned by the Dutch war with Spain. Specifically, it examines Richelieu's relations with the Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius. In 1626 the cardinal attempted to hire Grotius as a commercial expert, consulting with him on several occasions. Although Grotius declined, the cardinal was deeply influenced by Grotius’ arguments about the freedom of commerce and trade. Richelieu adapted these arguments to suit French needs and his own Catholic vision of the state.


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