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Photographic Services & Permissions Joannes De Ram London was the center of economic and political activity in England, supporting many producers of nautical wares: charts, atlases, sailing instructions, compasses, and so forth. The pre-fire view, while originally dating from the 1630s, still gives an idea of the thriving London port scene. This Dutch map celebrates England's "Glorious Revolution," when the crown passed from the English King, James II, a Catholic, via Parliament, to a joint sovereignty accepted in 1689 by William III and Mary II. William of Orange, Stadtholder of the Netherlands, a Protestant, had married the Protestant daughter of James II in 1677. This marriage of political convenience assured the Protestant nature of the English crown and allied Holland and England against the Catholic Louis XIV's grand designs in Europe. Perhaps those are oranges garlanding the royal couple and the view of London below? Oranges were noted in 16th- and 17th-century Europe for their decorative and aromatic value, and were symbolic of love - the Decameron is filled with their scent. Putti happily crown the Stuart royal coat of arms (not yet decorated with a shield carrying the arms of Nassau) as the London coat of arms is carried forward in celebration. |
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