(1) What were Cardinal Richelieu’s primary aims? According to Wikipedia, “Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu, known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as l’Éminence rouge, or “the Red Eminence”, a term derived from the title “Eminence” applied to cardinals and the red robes that they customarily wear.” Cardinal Richelieu had two primary goals. The first was the centralization of power in France, and the second was opposition to the Habsburg dynasty.
(2) What factors contributed to the decline of Spain? Some of the main factors that lead to the decline of Spain were expensive warfare, rebellions and revolts, and much of the economic activity was controlled by monopolies and state favorites.
(3) What is constitutionalism? According to Wikipedia, “Constitutionalism is ‘a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law’.”
(4) What do you think Hobbes’ main arguments are in the excerpts you read from his Leviathan? According to StudyMode Research, “The central thesis of Leviathan is the idea that in order for human society to function without widespread conflict there is a need for totalitarian rule in the form of a Leviathan, necessitated by man’s continual state of fear in a state of nature caused by limited knowledge of the outside world and therefore the intentions of other humans.”