A Discourse written by Sir George Downing, The King of Great Britain?s Envoy Extraordinary to the States of the United Provinces. Vindicating his royal master from the insolencies of a scandalous libel, printed under the title of [An Extract out of t

London: John, Luttone,, 1672. Scarce second, much augmented edition (first 1664) of this early tract on New York. Downing, an English diplomat, was accused by the Dutch of instigating the 1663-67 war between the two nations, as a result of which the British gained control over New Amsterdam. In 1664 Downing wrote a letter designed to clear his name, and published it as a 21-page pamphlet; the present edition reprints the original letter, and, as a simple glance at the collation of the present edition suggests, adds much new material, including how the Dutch suffered tribulations at the hands of the local Indians (pp. 16-19, etc.). The author of this tract was a nephew of Governor Winthrop and the second graduate of Harvard College. He returned to England soon after graduation, and in 1657 was appointed ambassador to The Hague by Cromwell. “Colbert, the famous French minister, characterized him as ‘le plus grand querelleur des diplomats de son temps.’ To him is attributed the Navigation Act to which England owed so much of her naval power, and no one was more instrumental than he in bringing New Netherland under the English Dominion” (Cole).The augmented edition of the work was shared between two publishers, Dorman Newman and John Luttone, and at least 3 variant imprints appeared the same year. (Inventory #: 3140)