Papers of William Paget, 6th Baron Paget

Correspondence and papers, c 1684 - c 1709, of William, sixth Lord Paget, concerning his public appointments in England, Vienna and Turkey. Letters to Paget include those from English ministers of state, consuls and merchants in Turkey, Swiss Cantons and Ambassadors. Papers include royal letters, state papers and treaty drafts.

William, sixth Lord Paget, was born on 10 February 1637, the eldest son of William, fifth Lord Paget. On 25 November 1678 he took up his seat in the House of Lords. In 1681 he signed a petition against the Parliament being held at Oxford. On the landing of the Prince of Orange, he was one of the Peers who petitioned the King to call a 'free parliament'. He subsequently voted for the vacancy of the throne and for settling the Crown on William and Mary, the Prince and Princess of Orange. On their accession, he was constituted the Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire in March 1688-1689.

In September 1690 he was appointed Ambassador at Vienna. He held this post until February 1693, when he was appointed as Ambassador-Extraordinary to Turkey. In this role he participated in the negotiations for a treaty of peace between the Imperialists, Poles and Turks, resulting in the Treaty of Carlowitz on 26 January 1699. Shortly afterwards he was instrumental in the peace between Muscovy, the State of Venice and the Turks. The Sultan and Grand Vizier of Turkey wrote to William III in March 1699, asking that Paget would not be recalled home, as Paget himself desired. Paget consented to stay, finally quitting the Turkish Court at Adrianople in May 1702. Between July and November 1702, Paget stayed in Vienna to settle the dispute that had arisen between the Emperor and the Grand Seignior concerning the limits of their respective territories in the Province of Bosnia. In December 1702, he attended the Court of Bavaria to offer England's mediation in adjusting the differences between the Prince and the Emperor. He arrived back in London in April 1703. On 24 June 1703, he was re-appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire. Paget died on 26 February 1713.

The original arrangement of the papers has been preserved where possible. The main divisions of the collection are: letters from Paget; letters to Paget; state documents and miscellaneous papers.

Open

Deposited on loan by the Marquis of Anglesey in 1964.

Handlist available

For permission to publish, please contact Archives & Special Collections, SOAS Library in the first instance

Copyright held by the Marquis of Anglesey, from whom permission to quote or publish must be sought.

Associated Material held elsewhere: Correspondence and notebook (1674-1713) held at William Salt Library, Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Archive Service [ref. D1734]; Personal and estate correspondence and papers held Staffordshire Record Office [ref. D603/K/3]; Letters (1693-1698) to William Blathwayt and others held at Beinecke Library, Yale University [ref. OSB MSS 2]; Correspondence (1694-1697) with Lord Lexington held at the British Library, manuscript Collections [ref. Add MS 46540]; Correspondence (1693-1694) with George Stepney, held at the Public Record Office [ref. SP105/58-60]; Miscellaneous correspondence and papers (1690-1702) held at the British Library, Manuscript Collections [ref. Add MS 61830; Eg MS 918]; Letters (1690-1692) to Sir W. D. Colt held at the British Library, Manuscript Collections [ref. Add MS 34095, 36662].