Agen in the early 17th century was at the crossroads of the religious debate revolving around the new Protestant faith.[2] The region favoured the Reformation. Nerac its neighbour and rival was the political and intellectual capital of French Protestants. The Edict of Nerac in 1579 had given the French Protestant 14 more protected towns and confirmed the Edict of Poitiers that recognised the religious rights of Protestants in France.