Medal on the state of Britain in 1697
John Croker (1670 - 1741)
Category
Coins and medals
Date
1697
Materials
Silver
Measurements
70 mm (Diameter)
Place of origin
Great Britain
Order this imageCollection
Osterley Park and House, London
NT 773291
Summary
Silver, medal on the state of Britain in 1697, John Croker (1670-1741), struck United Kingdom, 1697. A struck silver medal by John Croker depicting the state of Great Britain following the signing of the Peace of Ryswick in 1697. One of the terms of the Treaty confirmed recognition by the French of King William’s sovereignty over Great Britain. Obverse depicts King William III (1650-1702) facing right, in armour and with laurel wreath in his hair. Latin Legend reads as: William III, by the Grace of God King of Great Britain, France and Ireland. On the reverse the figure of Britannia, wearing a crown formed from naval ships, seated on ground and holding a trident and leaning on her shield. On the ground a book, with an olive branch upon it, and a broken yoke. Legend translates as: ‘To the restorer’ and ‘Britain, 1697'.
Full description
The medal was struck after the conclusion of the negotiations for the Peace of Ryswick, a series of treaties concluded in 1697 between France and a Grand Alliance consisting of Britain, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and the United Provinces. Their purpose was to bring a peaceful conclusion to the War of the Treaty of Augsburg or ‘Nine Years War’ (1688-97). With hostilities spreading beyond Europe to North America and India, the Nine Years War is sometimes regarded as the first global conflict. Its roots lay in competition between France and the Holy Roman Empire over the eventual succession to the throne of Spain. Spain, which had been the leading world power in the sixteenth century, had entered a long period of decline. In 1665 the last of the Spanish Habsburg kings, the frail Charles II, had taken the throne. Attempts to secure his succession lasted for decades but proved fruitless. Louis XIV of France, an aggressively expansionist monarch, saw the possibility of uniting the French and Spanish thrones as a way of achieving his objective of making France the most powerful nation in Europe. On the other hand the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperors, who had long been dynastically linked to the Spanish monarchs, were determined to prevent French encirclement and saw themselves as the legitimate successors to the Spanish throne. By 1697 all sides were exhausted after nine years of largely inconclusive hostilities. The Peace of Ryswick was mediated by the Swedish diplomat Niels Eosander, Baron of Lilliënrot, and sought to look forward to an extended period of peace. Negotiations and the signing of a series of separate peace treaties took place at King William III’s palace, the Huis ter Nieuburch at Rijswijk. Several treaties were signed in September and October 1697. The Peace required all territories captured by any side since 1688 to be handed back; the Dutch were allowed to hold eight 'barrier' fortresses in the Spanish Netherlands; Louis XIV promised to recognise William as the rightful king of Great Britain and Ireland and not to succour his enemies, whilst the town of Orange was also handed back to its ruling prince. The medal reflects British hopes for a sustained period of peace following the conclusion of the Peace, with the opportunities that would bring for increased commerce. However, Louis continued to offer shelter to the former King James II/VII and his court, calling into question his commitment to recognise William. Otherwise, peace lasted only until the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700, by which time the French were seen to have used the intervening years as an opportunity to regroup and strengthen their forces, which they kept at their wartime strengths. On his death, the childless Charles named as his successor Philip of Anjou, a grandson of Louis XIV, which he saw as the best solution to prevent Spain’s further decline. This led to the creation in 1701 of a new Great Alliance between the Empire, Britain and the Netherlands, in an attempt to bolster Austrian claims to the Spanish throne and to keep France within its borders. In 1702, the War of the Spanish Succession broke out, and lasted until 1713 and the Peace of Utrecht (for medals commemorating that treaty, see NT 773300-02). George Child Villiers, 9th Earl of Jersey (1910-1998) was a keen collector of ancient and modern coins and medals. He assembled an exceptionally large group of medals relating to the Peace of Ryswick (NT 773284-290, 773311), no doubt because of the involvement in the event of his ancestor Edward Villiers, first Earl of Jersey (c. 1655-1711). Villiers was a courtier, who had accompanied Princess Mary to the Netherlands in 1677, for her marriage to William of Orange. In May 1695, Jersey was appointed to the diplomatic post of Envoy-Extraordinary to the States General of the United Provinces, moving to the Netherlands. He played a full part in the peace conference at Ryswick, having been appointed Envoy-Extraordinary and -Plenipotentiary to the conference on 26 February 1697. Another Jersey ancestor, Sir Francis Child the Elder (1641/2-1713), was a goldsmith and banker, who helped to lay the basis for the family’s fortune. Child lent King William large sums for the financing of the Nine Years' War and was actively involved in negotiations for the treaty of Ryswick and also present for the signing of the various treaties. He bought a large number of Dutch and Flemish paintings whilst in the Netherlands in 1697. There is another version of this medal in copper in the collection at Osterley Park, NT [V/806]. Jeremy Warren 2019
Provenance
Given to the National Trust in 1993 by George Child Villiers, 9th Earl of Jersey (1910-1998).
Credit line
National Trust Collections (Osterley Park, The Jersey Collection)
Marks and inscriptions
Obverse, legend: GVLIELMVS. III. DEI. GRA: MAG: BR: FRA: ET: HIB: REX. Reverse, legend: RESTITVTORI. Reverse, exergue: BRITANNIA/MDCXCVII
Makers and roles
John Croker (1670 - 1741), medallist
References
Hawkins, E. (ed.) Franks, A.W. and Grueber, H.A: Medallic Illustrations of the History of Great Britain and Ireland to the death of George II, 2 vols,. London, 1885, II, p. 192, no. 499 Eimer 2010: Christopher Eimer, British Commemorative Medals and their Values, London 2010, p. 73, no. 372, Pl. 45