I've been thinking about how the classes would fit in my campaign, and I think they'll all fit in well, except for the Monks.
I can see where a female monk might come from. I was thinking I could have an "Order of Thecla" as a Judeo-Christian tradition of Christian female ascetics who practice mystical contemplation and, for self defense, the martial arts.
For males, I think I'd like to create a Pugalist class which has more fighting and less mystical contemplation. Of course, females could be Pugalists, too, but this would be rare. I imagine there could be an underground culture in Paris where female pugalists go at it against each other.
Maybe an isolated character could be like Father Father Mulcahy from M.A.S.H, or Brother Silence from Dorkness Rising: a priest who also is a skilled boxer, as well as having a number of other talents. He would not be part of an order of pugalistic monks, but it might be enough because how many players will want to play male monks?
Any other ideas might be appreciated.
Paris has a history with savate. Formalized in the 1800s, the style's origins are in the centuries previous from various "schools of street fighting".
Such a character is likely to be a Fighter or perhaps a Martial Artist. "A Fistful of Denar'ri" (PDF in the Paizo store) has an excellent variant monk that is more oriented on kicking butt than mystical mumbo jumbo.
I took a glance at the thread about why monks are 3/4s BAB. My theory is that Monks get so many cool things that they need a 3/4s BAB so they don't outshine Fighters. I see the thread also has the suggestion of two class types: a full BAB focused on fighting, and a 3/4s BAB with more mystical mechanics.
Calling the full BAB progression martial artist a Pugalist, they are easy to justify in a 17th Century European setting. Probably every country had their own style of unarmed fighting. I don't think many of them saw it as a path to enlightenment.
The 3/4s BAB Monk, on the other hand, I've thought of two justifications: 1, a secret order of female ascetics, not recognized by the Roman Catholic Church but existing since the 1st Century; 2, someone who trained in unarmed combat but decided to become a priest, monk, or nun as his(her) "day job".
Another idea I came up with:
Perhaps in the Pathfinder version of the world, the various belligerents in the religious wars that followed the Reformation found that having people with the skill set defined by the Monk Class was a handy thing. Eventually, Protestant Monks evolved, who called themselves "Leerenhänden", or "Empty Hands".
They are not associated with any church or congregation or monastery. Instead, they go where they are needed, doing what needs to be done, trusting to God's Will to guide them through their adventures. The Roman Catholics soon saw the utility of imitating them, and have their own inanes.