The Reformation and the Rise of the Nation State
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The French state kept control of the Church in its own hands until the Concordat of 1801 formally ended the Gallican structure (which the Revolution had already smashed) and returned the Church to the Pope, on condition that the French head of state would nominate bishops for Rome to confirm. Church and state were officially separated in 1905, barring Alsace & Lorraine, where bishops are still nominated by the President.
The Spanish state continued to control Church affairs, lands, and choose its clergy until the death of Franco returned the Church to Papal control.
Monastic lands were seized in both countries during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Google: ” French state centralization was spearheaded by Cardinal Richelieu and Cardinal Mazarin because their roles as unelected Chief Ministers granted them the supreme executive authority, ruthless neutrality, and institutional independence necessary to crush entrenched feudal privileges and consolidate royal absolutism.As clergymen, the Cardinals answered ultimately to the Crown and the Pope, allowing them to bypass traditional noble factions and navigate existential crises without fearing dynastic ruin or partisan backlash. Their historical centralization project was driven by a few key factors:Weakening the Feudal Aristocracy: Local nobles controlled regional territories and possessed their own private armies. The Cardinals stripped them of this military power, demolished fortified castles not needed for border defense, and replaced localized noble control with institutional administrators (the intendants) who reported directly to the Crown.Neutralizing Protestant Political Autonomy: To unify the state, Cardinal Richelieu curtailed the military and political privileges granted to the Huguenots (such as the heavily fortified city of La Rochelle), subordinating all factions to the absolute rule of the state.Fiscal and Military Survival: Frequent conflicts, particularly against the Austro-Spanish Habsburg dynasty, demanded massive state revenues. Centralization allowed the Crown to bypass obstructionist regional parliaments and efficiently levy taxes (like the taille) to sustain a modernized military and compete on the European stage.Building a Bureaucracy: They established a loyal administrative class (the noblesse de robe) that managed the state apparatus based on merit and loyalty rather than inherited noble bloodlines.**Preserving the Minority: ** Following Richelieu’s groundwork, Cardinal Mazarin successfully navigated the volatile regency of Anne of Austria and the young Louis XIV. He steered the monarchy through the aristocratic rebellions of the Fronde, securing the absolute system that the Sun King would later inherit and define.”
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