Ben Wilson

And look, if you're listening to this, you're a real fan. I appreciate you. You saw an episode about a guy you've never heard of with a long, complicated name, and you still press play because you trust me. And so I just want to say thank you. I see you. I appreciate you. You're the real fans. And I think you'll be well rewarded for your trust. So, you know, hang in there.

This is going to be an unfamiliar story for the vast majority of people listening, but I think that you're going to get some really great takeaways. I got some really great takeaways and I learned a ton from this. So with that said, let's get into it. This is the life of Francois de la Rochefoucauld. But first, a word from our sponsor, Gains in Bulk.

This is going to be an unfamiliar story for the vast majority of people listening, but I think that you're going to get some really great takeaways. I got some really great takeaways and I learned a ton from this. So with that said, let's get into it. This is the life of Francois de la Rochefoucauld. But first, a word from our sponsor, Gains in Bulk.

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Again, that is gainsinbulk.com and use code BEN. Okay, so Francois is born in the early 1600s, 1613 to be exact, into one of the most aristocratic families in all of France. They have like a perfect aristocratic record. They have dukes going way back, extensive land holdings, great reputation. Yeah, they're really well known and very aristocratic.

Again, that is gainsinbulk.com and use code BEN. Okay, so Francois is born in the early 1600s, 1613 to be exact, into one of the most aristocratic families in all of France. They have like a perfect aristocratic record. They have dukes going way back, extensive land holdings, great reputation. Yeah, they're really well known and very aristocratic.

Their dukedom, their territory is in Aquitaine in southwestern France. So he's born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but also metaphorically with a dagger in his left hand. He gets a typical aristocratic education, which at the time means more manners and military training than literature and mathematics. But as soon as he comes of age, he begins intriguing against the French government.

Their dukedom, their territory is in Aquitaine in southwestern France. So he's born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but also metaphorically with a dagger in his left hand. He gets a typical aristocratic education, which at the time means more manners and military training than literature and mathematics. But as soon as he comes of age, he begins intriguing against the French government.

And the cause of this is that the government of France was rapidly changing. So this is the 1600s, and Europe is rapidly coming out of feudalism and really into modernity, into the age of centralized nation-states. The reason for this is gunpowder. Firearms were rapidly replacing knights on horseback as the dominant technology on the battlefield. And as a result, France is changing as well.

And the cause of this is that the government of France was rapidly changing. So this is the 1600s, and Europe is rapidly coming out of feudalism and really into modernity, into the age of centralized nation-states. The reason for this is gunpowder. Firearms were rapidly replacing knights on horseback as the dominant technology on the battlefield. And as a result, France is changing as well.

France had always been a monarchy, at least going back nearly a thousand years, but it had always been a relatively weak monarchy where the nobility was really in charge. And that's because the nobility were the ones who could field these knights and heavily armed men-at-arms to fight in wars.

France had always been a monarchy, at least going back nearly a thousand years, but it had always been a relatively weak monarchy where the nobility was really in charge. And that's because the nobility were the ones who could field these knights and heavily armed men-at-arms to fight in wars.

So you had all these dukes and marquises and counts who were quite independent and not only influenced the king, but dominated the king oftentimes. In her biography of Rochefoucauld, Mary Shelley writes, in those days, nobles did not plot to become favorites of the king, but rather to rule over him. And that's often the case in kind of this time period in France.

So you had all these dukes and marquises and counts who were quite independent and not only influenced the king, but dominated the king oftentimes. In her biography of Rochefoucauld, Mary Shelley writes, in those days, nobles did not plot to become favorites of the king, but rather to rule over him. And that's often the case in kind of this time period in France.

But everything is moving in a completely different direction towards centralized states with large standing armies directly controlled by that state and away from feudal arrangements. Because, you know, if you can field a really large army with a lot of men with muskets, then that's going to be able to beat these armies with knights and men at arms that were kind of the old model.

But everything is moving in a completely different direction towards centralized states with large standing armies directly controlled by that state and away from feudal arrangements. Because, you know, if you can field a really large army with a lot of men with muskets, then that's going to be able to beat these armies with knights and men at arms that were kind of the old model.

So the man who is dragging France into modernity, kicking and screaming, is a man known as Cardinal Richelieu. You might have heard of him. He is the bad guy in The Three Musketeers. And so the nobility really hate Richelieu, who was in fact a very intelligent and discerning man who did a lot to modernize France. So the nobility are constantly trying to block and challenge and overthrow him.