This is Part III of my lecture on the Wars of Louis XIV.

Part I:    • The Wars of Louis XIV (AP European Hi...  
Part II:    • The War of the Spanish Succession (Wa...  

This final segment of my lecture on the Wars of Louis XIV focuses on historiography. What did Louis XIV's wars accomplish? Did they benefit France or did Louis drive France into debt with wars fought primarily for the sake of vanity and glory? Historians have debated the answers to these questions for centuries now.

History students enrolled in AP European History and collegelevel Western Civilization courses are increasingly being called upon to assess historical events and to analyze evidence in order to generate historical arguments, which is why it is important to evaluate the different perspectives available and critically analyze documentary evidence.