Richelieu and Olivares: The Quest for European Domination Richelieu and Olivares was written as an account of the lives of the two great rulers of rivaling nations which struggled for the domination of Europe and the idea of a Universal monarchy in the early seventeenth century. The beginning of the book discusses the childhood/adolescent years of Richelieu and Olivares, the similarities and differences of their distinctive personalities and the places and events that shaped them. They were similar in the fact that they were great visionaries and were both relentless in their constant pursuit of discipline and order. They were differ