The Basics 

The novel takes place between 1625  and 1628. 
​See Where In Time Are We? for some context.

Musketeers

Quite literally, a musketeer is someone armed with a musket. A musket is a heavy large-caliber muzzle-loading gun. In France, there were the Musketeers of the Guard. The King's Musketeers were founded in 1622 by Louis XIII (r. 1610 to 1643). This was a prestigious and honorable group to be a part of. The Musketeers of the Guard wore  a tabard indicating that they "belonged" to the King, and an embroidered white cross denoting the fact that they were Catholics. 

Protestants vs. Catholics // Hapsburgs vs. France

Since Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses in 1517, tension between Protestants and Catholics erupted throughout Europe. France was decidedly Catholic, along with Spain. This friction was the initial cause of the Thirty Years War, but not what sustained the war. Although Catholic, the French had shown themselves willing to work with some Protestant nations. Primarily, the French did not get along with the House of Hapsburg, or the House of Austria. 

Starting the Middle Ages, the Hapsburgs arranged a series of very beneficial marriages. Because of this, the Hapsburgs were everywhere. EVERYWHERE. Almost every major European power had a Hapsburg at the helm. Not France though. France was surrounded by the German and Spanish branches of the Hapsburg dynasty. France was decided to preventing a Spanish-Habsburg pre-eminence in Europe.

The Thirty Years War 

The Thirty Years’ War (1618-48) began when Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II of Bohemia tried to create religious uniformity among his subjects, sparking sparking rebellion among Protestants. The war was fought largely on German soil, and eventually involved  the major powers of Europe: including Sweden, France, Spain and Austria.The French were barely involved with the war until 1635, after the events of the Three Musketeers. However, the war rages on around France and affects the atmosphere of Europe at the time. 

Anglo-French War (1627–29)

This is the war that, in The Three Musketeers, the Duke of Buckingham starts because of his affair with Anne. The conflict followed the failure of the Anglo-French alliance of 1624, in which England had tried to find an ally in France against the power of the Habsburg. In 1625, Richelieu used English warships to vanquish the Huguenots (French Protestants) which made the English really mad. In 1626, France actually concluded a secret peace with Spain. Also, France was building the power of its Navy, which made the English feel threatened. In June 1626, Walter Montagu was sent to France to gather support for a rebellion, and the plan was to send an English fleet to aid the rebellion. The conflict ended with the Siege of La Rochelle (a Huguenots stronghold), which resulted in a French victory.