Annales et Historiae de Rebus Belgicis.
Amstelaedami: Ioannis Blaev, 1658. Hard Cover. Very Good / No Jacket. Item #2309053
1658 printing (early printing of Sabin 28956). Boards soiled, lacks frontispiece portrait of Grotius, owner bookplate of The Right Honourable Wilmot, Earl of Lisburne, in the Kingdom of Ireland on front endpaper.
[xiv], 812, [34] pp. 24mo. Latin text. Vellum boards, morocco spine label, gilt titles and rules, marbled edges. The title translates as Annals and History of the Low Countries' War, which refers to what is now known as The Eighty Years' War, or the Dutch War of Independence (1568-1648), though the conflict involved seventeen provinces and their revolt against Philip II of Spain, sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands. These would later become the nations of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Sabin quotes F. Muller in stating that this work is "[i]mportant for the history of the events which impeded the execution of Usselincx's plan to form the East- and West-India Companies, from 1591--1609." Grotius wrote the manuscript in 1612-13, covering the period of the war through the Twelve Years' Truce, and it was first published in Amsterdam in 1657. He was a Dutch humanist best known for his influence on international law (specifically his works 'On the Law of War and Peace' and 'The Free Seas'), and the concept of human rights.
Price: $300.00