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[[File: Kardinaal de Richelieu.jpg|300px|thumb|left|Titian’s portrait of Richelieu]]
In the early seventeenth century France was one of the leading powers in Europe, but it was very divided and vulnerable. It was surrounded by the Hapsburgs who controlled the Low Countries and Spain. The kingdom was also very divided because of religion. Europe was torn by religious conflict and in 1618 the Thirty Years War broke out, and much of the continent was dragged into the conflict between Catholic and Protestant.<ref> Bergin, Joseph. <i>The Rise of Richelieu</i> (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1997), p. 34</ref> The international situation was destabilizing French society which was divided between Catholic and Protestant (Huguenot).
The Edict of Nantes had granted French Protestants religious toleration, and this community effectively ran their own ‘parallel state.’ There were continued tensions between Catholics and Protestants, and this frequently exploded into riot and violence. The Catholic community itself was divided between hardliners and those who took a more pragmatic approach to religion. The country itself was still largely a feudal society.<ref>Bergin, p. 13</ref>
The local nobility and magnates dominated the localities, and they were the de-facto rulers in their lands. The great noble families such as the Conde owned massive estates and they even had their private armies. These noble families owed more allegiance to themselves than to France. The nobility was factionalized, and they constantly quarreled and also fought each other to gain influence and even intrigued with the Hapsburgs against their king.<ref> Collins, James B. <i>The State in Early Modern France</i> (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1995), p. 15</ref> The actual power of the monarch was minimal. The king in France was dependent upon the nobles to raise taxes and an army. If the aristocrats did not want to cooperate with the king, he was in great difficulties. Many found this situation intolerable and demanded reforms, especially the middle class and urban elites.