ABSTRACT
The Sun King's reign ended in a blood-red sunset–the Twenty-Five Years War that wrecked Europe in general and France in particular. Louis's harsh treatment of his Huguenot subjects and mishandling of his relations with Rome were all of a piece with his punitive foreign policy. Indeed, historians have wondered if there was something wrong with the man. Louis derived immense satisfaction from French victories and suffered on his troops' behalf when things went wrong. The compromise peace to which Louis XIV agreed in 1697 was roundly condemned by his more belligerent courtiers and soldiers. Louis XIV continued to behave in a statesmanlike way for the next three years. Imperial successes by Britain's Royal Navy have been read back by her patriotic historians into Louis XIV's time. In truth the French navy acquitted itself creditably between 1702 and 1713. The peace treaties that concluded the war were less hard on France than the terms Louis offered the allies in 1710.
