LA POSTE FRANCE in 1974 issued a first day cover stamp marking the 300th death anniversary of Cardinal de Richelieu (1602-1674). The stamp was designed by Philippe de Champaigne and printed with a vignette "ARPHILA 1975" which was not part of the stamp but which was included with the imperforate stamp.
Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu, own 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 they customarily wore.
Richelieu sought to consolidate royal power and by restraining the power of the nobility, he transformed France into a strong, centralised state. In foreign policy, his primary objective was to check the power of the Hapsburg dynasty in Spain and Austria, and ensure French dominance in the Thirty Years' War that engulfed Europe. Despite suppressing French Protestants, he did not hesitate to make alliances with Protestant states like the Kingdom of England and the Dutch Republic to achieve his goals. Though he was a powerful political figure, events such as the Day of the Dupes, or Journée des Dupes, show this power was still dependent on the king's confidence.
An alumnus of the University of Paris and headmaster of the College of Sorbonne, he renovated and extended the institution. He was famous for his patronage of the arts, and founded the Académie Française, the learned society responsible for matters pertaining to the French language. As an advocate for Samuel de Champlain and New France, he founded the Compagnie des Cent-Associés; he also negotiated the 1632 Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, under which Quebec City returned to French rule after its loss in 1629.
Source: Wikipedia
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