Rare issue of the first edition of a contemporary account of Stadtholder William II's attempted attack on Amsterdam in July 1650, complete with the rare folding plate. The attack followed a conflict between William and the States of Holland over the reduction of the army after the Peace of Münster. William had several leading members of the States arrested and sent troops to Amsterdam in an attempt to break the power of the regents. The plan failed when the troops under the Frisian stadsholder William Frederick of Nassau-Dietz lost their way because of the rain, giving Amsterdam enough time to close its gates and organise its defence. The forced William to reach an agreement with the city. His unexpected death only a few months later, on 6 November 1650, was followed by the beginning of the First Stadtholderless Period (1650-1672).
The work is illustrated with a large folding view of Amsterdam and its surroundings, showing the positions of the troops during the attempted attack, and includes a short history of Amsterdam. Another issue of the pamphlet was published in Antwerp by Hieronymus Verdussen (Knuttel 6705); a second edition appeared later in the same year, enlarged with an account of the imprisonment at Loevestein Castle of several opponents of the stadtholder and of the death of William II on 6 November (Knuttel 6706). The work was reprinted in 1968.
The spine is worn. The work is occasionally stained, the folding plate has a small horizontal tear and a vertical tear across its entire height, restored on the verso, with the loss of a strip of material along the tear. Otherwise in good condition. Knuttel 6704; STCN 125266987; USTC 1017096; cf. W. Frijhoff & M. Spies, 1650. Bevochten eendracht. The Hague, 1999, pp. 75-79 (reproducing the plate).