WILLIAM III: STATE OF BRITIAN

CROKER, John: England, 1697, Silver, 69 mm
Obv: Bust (r)     GVLIELMVS. III. DEI. GRA: MAG: BR: FRA: ET: HIB: REX:. Britannia, crowned, seated on ground, leaning on her shield and holding a trident; near her lies an olive branch on a book, a broken yoke below    RESTITVTORI. (To the Restorer)
Exergue: BRITANNIA:. MDCXCVII.
Signed: not signed
Ref: Eimer 64/372; MI ii, 192/499; Farquhar 1912/242-3; v.Loon IV. 250

This medal, though unsigned, was executed by John Croker. It symbolized the state of Britain after the Peace of Ryswick.

The Peace of Ryswick (Treaty of Ryswick: now known as Rijswijk in the Dutch Republic) was signed in 1697 and settled the Nine Years' War between France against the Grand Alliance of England, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and the United Provinces. As part of its provisions, England returned Nova Scotia to France, and France recognized William III as king of England. Louis XIV of France also agreed to return most of the territory conquered in Germany and Spain after 1679, return Catalonia to Spain, and cede independence of the duchy of Lorraine. The Dutch were allowed to garrison certain towns in the Spanish Netherlands.