σIn the first half of the 17th century, the French kings became much more powerful, both inside their own kingdom and in Europe. This was the age of the musketeers. These soldiers, who carried both a gun (the musket) and a sword, were the elite troops of France under King Louis XIII (1601-43) and his chief minister, Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642). Founded in 1622, the musketeers were used to suppress Protestant revolts in France and to fight the country's main foreign enemy, Spain. @The Three Musketeers@
In his famous novel ºThe Three Musketeersº, French novelist Alexandre Dumas (1802-70) recounts the adventures of Aramis, Athos, and Porthos, musketeers under Louis XIII. D'Artagnan, a soldier from Gascony, joins them and together they invent the motto: "All for one and one for all". Musketeers were recruited from among the younger sons of noble families. Only eldest sons inherited land in order to avoid the dispersion of family wealth. Younger sons therefore usually went into the army or the church.
