Cardinal de Richelieu was recognized as the King’s First Minister. He went out to extend royal power and crush domestic industries. By limiting the power of the nobility, he transformed France into a central state. His goal in foreign policy was to check and stabilize the power of the Habsburg dynasty, and to ensure French dominance in the Thirty Years ' War that surrounded Europe with numerous conflicts. Although he was a cardinal, he still made alliances with Protestant rulers in attempting to achieve his goals, whether they were political, economic or foreign. Richelieu was also famous for his patronage of the arts; most notably, he founded an organization known as the Académie Française, the society claiming for matters pertaining to the