Broadside proclamation by King Charles II, one page, 11.5 x 14.75, February 27, 1674. Significant broadside issued by King Charles II, proclaiming the Treaty of Westminster, headed: "By the King. A Proclamation For Publishing the Peace between His Majesty and the States General of the United Netherlands." The text begins: "Whereas a Peace hath been Created and Concluded at Westminster, betwixt His Majesty, and the States General of the United Netherlands, and the Ratifications thereof exchanged, and Publication thereof made at the Hague…In conformity thereunto His Majesty hath thought fit hereby to Command, That the same be Published throughout His Majesties Dominions." The king's name, "Charles R," is imprinted at the top, and the proclamation concludes, "God save the King." Printed in London by John Bill and Christopher Barker. Tipped into a quarter-morocco binding. In fine condition.
This broadside proclaims the Treaty of Westminster, which ended the Third Anglo-Dutch War in February 1674. Most significantly, the treaty provided for the return of the colony of New Netherland (now New York) to England, it having been seized by the Dutch fleet a year earlier. Interestingly, as news of the peace could not be communicated quickly to all parts of the world, different dates had been determined upon which legal hostilities would end.
