ACTES ET MEMOIRES DES NEGOCIATIONS DE LA PAIX DE RYSWICK

Haye, 1699. Three volumes. Two folding plates and several folding tables. 12mo. Modern half cloth and marbled boards, leather labels. Some interior staining, a few pages (including titlepages) chipped around edges. A good set. Exhaustive compilation of all of the state papers and preliminaries leading to the Treaty of Ryswick of 1697. The Treaty of Ryswick concluded the conflict known as King William's War, begun when William and Mary overthrew James II of England, who fled to France and persuaded Louis XIV to take his side. The war saw heavy fighting in Hudson's Bay and Canada, and frequent Indian incursions against settlers in New England. The West (truncated) Indies were also a center of conflict, and several islands changed hands during the war. Because of the desire of the British to obtain peace, concessions were made here to allow the French to keep much of what they had seized in Hudson's Bay, laying the ground for further conflict and displeasing many British traders. Elsewhere, the status quo ante was reverted to, with much seized territory changing hands back to the pre-war kingdoms, and with no provisions made in the treaty to address the outstanding territorial grievances, which only led to later conflict. EUROPEAN AMERICANA notes a British edition published in 1698, and surmise that this French edition would have been published then as well, and they therefore list it under the year 1698, giving Jacques Bernard credit for editing the work. A scarce compilation, not in Sabin, LeClerc, or TPL. DAVENPORT 84. EUROPEAN AMERICANA 698/19. KOSSMANN 274 (Inventory #: WRCAM35461)