Did musketeers really exist in France?

Yes. In the 17th century, there was a military corps, considered the elite of the French army, which served as the king’s personal escort. This troop emerged around 1600, when King Henry IV formed a group of guards, carefully selected, who became responsible for their security. In addition to being excellent swordsmen, these soldiers also used carbines and were called “carabineiros”. The development of the musket, a more advanced weapon, changed the group’s name. “When Louis XIII ascended the throne of France (in 1610), he ordered the carabineers to be armed with muskets. So these soldiers became known as musketeers,” says American historian Chris Hoopes. She points out, however, that an official document was never found referring to a special troop named musketeers. What actually exists is historical evidence about these royal guards.

In the beginning, the troop had only 100 men, who received training in fencing, target shooting and combat tactics, as well as lessons in the refined etiquette of the French court. Over the following centuries, the group grew or dissolved as the political intrigues of France dictated. “Musketeers only ceased to exist in 1815,” says Hoopes. In the same 19th century, but three decades after the disappearance of the famous unit, it was immortalized in the book The Three Musketeers, published in 1844 by the French novelist Alexandre Dumas. “This work belongs to the historical novel genre. In other words, it is based on real facts, the characters existed, but the author creates events that are the fruit of his imagination”, says historian Vera Vieira, from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP).