Amsterdam and William III

By Elizabeth Edwards | Published in History Today Volume: 43 Issue: 12

Without the economic muscle of the Netherlands' largest city, William III would never have been able to stage Britain's 'Glorious Revolution' or urge European war against Louis XIV. But his relationship with Amsterdam's burghers was far from smooth, as Elizabeth Edwards outlines here.

On March 21st, 1681, Sir William Carr, the resident English Consul in Amsterdam wrote to William Blaythwayt about the political situation in that city. He described how he saw the changes in the attitudes of the Amsterdam regents which resulted in William III, Prince of Orange and Stadholder of Holland, accepting an invitation to their city after a seven years' absence. He reasoned that:

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Tags: Glorious Revolution,Early Modern (16th-18thC),

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