WHEN NEW AMSTERDAM BECAME NEW YORK - "VERY RARE"
(DOWNING, GEORGE).
Diverses pieces servans de réponse aux discours publiez par les Hollandais, sur ce qui s'est passé entre l'Angleterre et la Hollande. (Containing the following seven articles:) 1. Réponse á l'ecrit des Hollandais, intitulé, La replique des Seigneurs les Estats á la réponse du Roy dela Grand Bretagne, du 9 d’Octobre 1664. 2. Memoire du Chevalier Downing envoyé extraordinaire deSa Majesté en Hollande, presenté á Messieurs les Estats Generaux ... 3. Supplément au memoire precedent ... 4. Liste ou memoire du plusieurs torts & dommages faits aux Anglois par les Hollandais. 5. Projet d'un reglement sur le commence, offert au nom de Sa Majesté Britannique ... 6. Relation fidele & veritable des horrible cruautez exercées par les Hollandais contre les Anglois á Amboyna dans les Indes Orientales ... 7. Est ajoûtée une reflexion sur un libelle intitulé, Remarques succinctes & deduction, faites pare les Députez des Hauts & Puissans Seigneurs Estats Generaux ... sur le dernier memoire du Sieur George Downing
(No place, nor printer), 1665.
4to. In contemporary boards. Soiling and light miscolouring to extremities. Small paper-label pasted on to top of spine. Ex-libris (Carl Juel, Danish statesman and owner of Valdemar's Castle) pasted on to pasted down front end-paper. Tear to front free end-paper. Four holes in inner margin throughout the bookblock, from a previous stitching. A few annotations in contemporary hand to title-page. Title-page somewhat soiled. A few occassional brownspots and last leaf with repair to lower margin, far from touching text. Otherwise internally generally nice and clean. (4), 112 pp.
The exceedingly rare French publication containing various diplomatic articles serving as a response to the discourses published by the Dutch, concerning what happened between England and Holland in the Second Anglo-Dutch War and the consequences thereof - “A work of much interest in relation to the history of New Netherland. This French edition is very rare” (Sabin). Sir George Downing (1623–1684) was an influential 17th-century diplomat and politician. Educated at Harvard, he served Cromwell as a diplomat in the Netherlands before switching allegiances to Charles II, earning a baronetcy. Downing's innovations in public finance and postal systems left a lasting impact, notably through the development of Downing Street. He played a key role in the Treaty of Breda (1667) and contributed significantly to modern financial practices. Downing played a crucial role in the transition of New Holland to New York. As a diplomat and intelligence officer during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, Downing's reports on Dutch colonial vulnerabilities guided English strategy. He highlighted the strategic value of New Amsterdam, leading King Charles II to authorize its capture in 1664. An English fleet seized the colony with little resistance, renaming it New York. Downing also influenced the Treaty of Breda (1667), which formalized English control. His diplomatic efforts were vital in transforming the Dutch colony into an English stronghold, shaping New York's future. Sabin 20783 (“Remarques succinctes & deduction”): “A work of much interest in relation to the history of New Netherland. This French edition is very rare”. The present work is of the utmost scarcity. We have not been able to trace a single copy at auction and OCLC only list two copies; one in the library of the New-York Historical Society and one in Sachische Landesbibliothek, Germany.
The Second Anglo-Dutch War here discussed resulted in the permanent English acquisition of New Amsterdam, which became New York. This transition significantly altered the region's governance, culture and economic trajectory, establishing English dominance in North America. The war's outcomes set the stage for New York's emergence as a major colonial and later American city, blending Dutch and English influences.
Provenance: From the Library of Valdemar’s Castle, Denmark.
Order-nr.: 61324
DKK 125.000,00