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in Milan to those in the Netherlands (fig. 25). 79 An ally with the Grisons, France saw the
Spanish incursion as a threat to its security, leading the Gallic kingdom to seek renewed alliances
with Venice and Savoy with the goal of ridding the region of the enemy forces. From this point
on Louis XIII worked against Habsburg interests, refusing to tolerate the expansion of other
states in the name of a Catholic Europe. 80
Despite the French kingdom’s action against Spain, studies of the period point out that
internal division prevented Louis XIII from taking an active role in the Thirty Years’ War. 81
Among the primary domestic issues plaguing the king were continuing challenges from the
Huguenots, a group which Louis and his advisors viewed as trying to create a state within the
state. In 1627 a significant siege at the western port of La Rochelle dramatically reduced the
rights of the Protestants. Two years later the king further restricted the actions of the rebellious
heretics, finally securing a satisfactory resolution to the decade-long conflict. 82
The other major factor distracting Louis XIII from foreign affairs was the Queen Mother.
In addition to her continued quest for power following her return to court in 1621, the queen’s
close association with the dévots and other religious groups troubled the king. He suspected his
mother and the religious groups of fostering hopes of securing alliances with Spain and the
papacy to create a united Catholic Europe, even at the expense of French sovereignty. While
Louis XIII asserted his power over these groups in part by supporting the church of the French
Oratorians in 1623 and Jesuit Saint-Louis-des-Jésuites in 1627, the internal conflict resulting
from the goals of the conservative Catholics was only resolved as a consequence of the Day of
the Dupes. Following Maria de’ Medici’s refusal to reconcile with Richelieu, the king dismissed
many of his mother’s advisors, whom he feared were plotting to undermine his minister. 83
Among those relieved from their positions were notable dévots such as Michel de Marillac, his
brother Louis, and François de Bassompierre. The removal from power of these figures and
Maria de’ Medici’s flight from France in 1631 were decisive actions that ended the more than
ten-year division between the dévots and the crown.
With his mother out of the picture and with the Huguenot problem settled, Louis
expected to turn his attention to foreign affairs, but again familial disputes thwarted these plans.
Following the Day of the Dupes, Gaston, duc d’Orléans, the king’s only brother and the heir to
the throne, fled France, first entering the Spanish territory of Besançon, then traveling to the anti-
French duchy of Lorraine (figs. 25 and 97). 84 The reason for his flight stemmed from a dispute
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