138 - [BARRON (William)] and [Antoine-Marie CERISIER]. History of the Founding of the Colonies of the Former Republics. Adapted to the Current Dispute Between Great Britain and Its American Colonies. Translated from the English...

[BARRON (William)] and [Antoine-Marie CERISIER]. History of the Founding of the Colonies of the Former Republics. Adapted to the Current Dispute Between Great Britain and Its American Colonies. Translated from the English... Utrecht, Van Schoonhoven, 1778, in-8, 4 unnumbered leaves—247 pp. Bound in bronze half-basane, smooth spine. (19th-century binding.) - Seals on the title page and half-title page. Some scuffing on the binding; inner hinge slightly stretched. First edition of the French translation by Cérisier, expanded with several unpublished pieces. This work, attributed to William Barron, a professor at St. Andrews, had been published in London the previous year. It refers to measures taken by colonizers in antiquity to justify the taxes imposed by England. A staunch supporter of England, he opposed the independence of the United States. This was at the height of the War of Independence. Antoine-Marie Cérisier (1749–1828), its translator, was stationed in The Hague. In his additional notes, he warns the Dutch of the risks of an alliance with the French in support of the “insurgents.” (Barbier II, col. 697 – Cioranescu I, 16456 (presumed translation).