Histoire de Guillaume III, Samson, Three Volume Set 1703-1704. 

Size: (each) 6 1/4 X 4 1/4 X 1 1/2 in. 

This three-volume set is titled Histoire De Guillaume III, Roi D’Angleterre, D’Ecosse, De France, et D’irlande, &c. Contenant Ce qui s’est passe de plus particulier depuis Sa Naissance jusques a sa mort; les demelez qui ont régné durant la Minority; les Négociations, Les Alliances, & Les Guerres qui se sont faites en Europe sous sa direction, pendant son Regne …, which means "History of William III, King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, etc. Containing the most particular events that occurred from his Birth until his death; the disputes that reigned during his Minority; the Negotiations, Alliances, and Wars that took place in Europe under his direction, during his Reign…" The books were written by P. A. Samson and published in La Haye - The Hague - between 1703 and 1704 by Chez Etienne Foulque. The three volumes have four raised bands with horizontal gilt rules and gilt lettering and gilt decorations on the spines, brown marbled boards with gilt borders, marbled endpapers, each volume has an early hand-written inscription signed by the Marquis de Alegrete, and they are in the original French. Marquis de Alegrete was a Portuguese title often associated with Manuel Teles da Silva, 3rd Marquis of Alegrete, a prominent figure in the Portuguese royal court. He held various roles including Fidalgo of the Royal Household, commander of the Order of Christ, and Secretary of the Royal Academy of History. He was also involved in negotiations leading to the 1703 Methuen Treaty, which was a trade agreement between England and Portugal that established preferential treatment for each nation's exports. The title was created in 1687. Guillaume III (1650 - 1702), known in English as  William III and William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange at birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gueldres, and Overijessel in the Dutch Republic after 1672 - the stadtholder was the chief magistrate of the United Provinces of the Netherlands - and he was king of  England, Ireland and Scotland from 1689 until his death in 1702. He ruled Great Britain and Ireland with his wife, Queen Mary II, and their joint reign was known as that of William and Mary. William was a Protestant who participated in several wars against the Catholic French ruler Louis XIV. Protestants hailed William as a champion of their faith, and his uncle James became King of England, Scotland, and Ireland in 1685, but James was very unpopular, and in 1688, William invaded England and deposed James in what became known as the Glorious  Revolution. William was occupied with foreign wars after he succeeded James to the throne, so Mary governed in his absence. When she died in 1694, a group loyal to King James plotted to assassinate William and restore James to the throne, but that attempt was thwarted, and there were various intrigues to keep William on the throne until he died in 1702. William endowed Willam and Mary College in present-day Williamsburg, Virginia, and when  you see places named Nassau, the likelihood is the place was named after William because he belonged to a branch of the House of Nassau. So when you visit Nassau in New York or in the Caribbean, just remember Willam was the namesake for those places. Volume I is dated MDCCIII - 1703 - at the bottom of the title page, it has a frontis portrait of Guillaume III, a four-page Privilegie, a seven-page Preface, 473 pages of text, and 26 pages of Table Des Matieres at the end - Table des matières" is the French phrase for "Table of Contents” - with five portraits, including one of Olivier Cromwell - Oliver Cromwell - and a fold-out map of Orange on page 368. Volume II is dated MDCCIII - 1703 - with 476 pages of text and 42 pages of Table Des Matieres, a large fold-out map of the low countries in the Netherlands - Les XVII Provinces des Pays Bas - and portraits of three French noblemen. Volume III is dated MDCCIV - 1704 - at the bottom of the title page, with 478 pages of text and 49 pages of Table Des Matieres, and four portraits of French noblemen and a large fold-out engraving of combat between the forces of Prince Robert, the Count d’Estrees and de Ruiter on page 164. The books all measure 6 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches wide and are in very good condition, with tight bindings, there are brown spots here and there and offset throughout, and we believe all the maps and portraits are present and in very good condition too, with a small tear at the top of the fold-out map in the third volume and that’s it, and the three volumes appear to have been rebound and kept well intact because of that.