Official papers deriving from administrative procedures of central government, dated between 1581 and 1887, consisting of manuscript copies and published versions of speeches, addresses and official letters, Acts of Parliament, petitions and cases, proclamations, lists of ministers and MPs, and miscellaneous other political papers. The majority originate from the second half of the seventeenth century, giving an instructive view of the relations between the Stuart monarchs and their respective parliaments, against a background of political unrest and religious dissension. Recurrent themes include the Dutch invasion, the accession and policies of William III, Jacobite resistance, Protestant religion, European wars, taxation, home and foreign trade, and national finance.