Essay from the year 2015 in the subject History Europe - Other Countries - Middle Ages, Early Modern Age, grade: 1, 3, University of Trier, course: Une terre "d'entre-deux": Lothringen in der Frühen Neuzeit (1500-1815), language: English, abstract: The Nine Years' War, also often called the War of the Grand Alliance was a major war between France and the Grand Alliance. Louis XIV, king of France fought against the Grand Alliance which consisted out of England, Spain, Sweden, Bavaria and the Holy Roman Empire. During the war from 1688-1697 major territories of south-west Germany and of the Palatinate were destroyed. For instance, cities like Mannheim or Heidelberg were completely destroyed. However, this war did not only take place on German ground but also in many different parts of Europe and colonies of the European forces.This paper will investigate why this war evolved. In order to do this, three factors will be distinguished: Firstly, the causes of the war will be evaluated. Moreover, these causes will be discussed in order to find out whether this military conflict was actually unavoidable or if these causes were used under pretence to start a war. Secondly, the circumstances under which Louis XIV decided to go on a military strike are going to be examined. Thirdly, this essay will make the actual reasons for the outbreak of the war a subject of discussion. The historical background and the French policy and the concept of gloire will be considered in order to understand the motives of Louis XIV. This paper is a research-oriented essay. The points that are mentioned will be analysed on the basis of the research results and critically and controversially discussed. In particular, the work of Roland Vetter, John A. Lynn and Bernd Wunder will be enlarged upon.