Front flyleaf of vol. 1 annotated: "Copys of letters written to the Principal Secretarys of State by the Hon.ble James Cressett Esq. their Ma.ties of Great Brittain Envoy Extraord. to the Princes of Brunswick-Luneburg the 7th Nov 1693 being the First Year of his Negotiations."

Front flyleaf of vol. 2 annotated: "Copys of letters written to the Principall Secretarys of State by the Honourble James Cressett Esq. His Maj.tys of Great Brittain Envoy Extraord.y to the Princes of Brunswick-Lunebourg and Plenipotentiary at the Treaty of Pinnenburg 1699/700 being the sixth year of his negotiation."

Binding: contemporary parchment; remains of silk ties. Front covers of volumes 2-4 marked as volumes 1-3. Front cover of volume 1 unmarked.

In English, French, Latin, and German.

Manuscript letterbooks in several secretarial hands containing copies of incoming and outgoing correspondence, official documents, and diplomatic papers associated with James Cressett, Envoy Extraordinary to the courts of Brunswick and Celle (Lunenberg) from 1693 to 1703. Volumes 1 and 2 contain copies of outgoing letters from Cressett to members of the British government, including Secretaries of State Sir John Trenchard, James Vernon, Sir Charles Hedges, and Sir William Trumbull and Secretary of War Sir William Blathwayt. Other correspondents include the Dukes of Marlborough and Shrewsbury and the Earls of Albemarle and Portland. Volume 3 contains copies of official letters received by Cressett from various officers at Whitehall, particularly Vernon, Blathwayt, and Hedges. Volume 4 contains copies of official diplomatic correspondence between King William and other heads of state in Latin, French, and German; copies of negotiating memoranda, background papers, and drafts of proposed treaty articles; and other diplomatic papers.

The major topic of the correspondence is the protracted and multinational negotiations that resulted both in several treaties among various European powers and in the War of the Spanish Succession. Cressett requests instructions and sends summaries of negotiating sessions, current rumors, information from spies and agents, and proposals for future English positions in the talks. Cressett sends much news of events in the royal house of Hanover, including the imprisonment of Georg Ludwig's wife Sophia Dorothea. The letterbooks trace the eventual emergence of Georg Ludwig as the future heir to the English throne as well. Other topics include the various discussions concerning the succession to the Spanish throne, the alliances formed against France, and the first campaigns of the war.

Great Britain > Foreign relations > 1660-1714.

Great Britain > Foreign relations > Germany.

Great Britain > History > 1689-1714.

Great Britain > Kings and rulers > Succession.

Great Britain > Officials and employees.

Braunschweig (Germany) > Foreign relations.

Hannover (Germany) > Foreign relations.

Lueneburg (Principality) > Foreign relations.