AQA A Level History Depth Study: The Sun King: Louis XIV, France and Europe, 1643-1715 (A-level only) November 2020 question paper 7042/2F

With reference to these sources and your understanding of the historical context, assess the value of these three sources to an historian studying the formation of the Regency Council in 1643.

To what extent was the decline of Spanish power the reason for France’s success in the War of Devolution in the years 1667 to 1668?

To what extent were the costs of war responsible for the financial problems of France in the years 1688 to 1697?

‘The War of the Spanish Succession was more successful for French interests outside Europe than within Europe itself.’

Assess the validity of this view.