TAXING BEER, ALE & OTHER LIQUORS TO PAY FOR 1ST GLOBAL WAR. ACTS - England and Wales]. London. Printed by Charles Bill and the Executrix of Thomas Newcomb deceas'd, Printers to the King and Queens most Excellent Majesties. 1692, '93, '94, '97.

Folio.  102 printed pages (numbered 207-239,  95-103, 115-76, 67-8 & extracted from larger works) . Title  pages for all four statutes. Royal armorial woodcut to title. Headpiece of three lines of ornamental printer's devices. Elaborate, floral, woodcut, ornamental initial device.  Some uniform toning particuar on the 1693 and '97 Acts. 18 x 27 cm. Disbound, with remains of original stitching. Complete original printed acts, removed from the annual volume for the year. Imprint date is given as 1692 for the first statute and the regnal year is given as 'quarto'; the rest of the statutes are dated 1693, '94 and '97 and have regnal years 'quinto', 'nono & decimo' under William and Mary,  the remaining act under William alone.   These proclamations are four of a series appearing during the war with France in anattempt to pay for the very high military costs. The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarchy), the Dutch Republic, England, Spain, Savoy and Portugal. It was fought in Europe and the surrounding seas, in North America, and in India. It is sometimes considered the first global war. The conflict encompassed the Williamite war in Ireland and Jacoobite risings in Scotland, where William iii and Jamesii struggled for control of England and Ireland, and a campaign in colonial North America between French and English settlers and their respective Native American allies. Parliament and the nation had to provide money, men and ships, and William had found it expedient to explain his intentions ... but this did not mean that Parliament or even ministers assisted in the formulation of policy. William III regarded the war as an opportunity to reduce the power of France and protect the Dutch Republic, while providing conditions that would encourage trade and commerce. Note the archaic use of English Blackletter (sometimes black letter), also known as Gothic script, at that time considered to be more readily legible (especially by the less literate classes of society), and therefore remained in use throughout the 17th century and into the 18th for documents intended for widespread dissemination, such as proclamations and Acts of Parliament, and for literature aimed at the common people, such as ballads, chivalric romances, and jokebooks. These 330 year-old Beer and Alcohol related imprints  are in very good condition.