WICQUEFORT, ABRAHAM DE

(1606–1682)

Diplomat and historian. De Wicquefort studied law at Leiden University and lived for several years in Paris. In 1646, he was appointed a resident, or diplo matic representative, of the Elector of Brandenburg, Germany, at the French court. After his expulsion by the French government in 1659, he returned to the Republic. Urged by Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt, the States of Holland commissioned him to write a history of the Republic, the Histoire des Provinces Unies des Pays-Bas [History of the United Provinces], which was not published until 1719–1743, in two volumes. In 1675, de Wicquefort was charged with high trea son because of his connections with France and England. He escaped from prison in 1679 and died in Celle, Germany. His most famous book was L’ambassadeur et ses fonctions [The Ambassador and His Functions, 1690]

See also Historiography.