THE IMPARTIAL PROTESTANT MERCURY, London, England, Jan. 3, 1681/2  

* Rare 17th century publication
* Protestants versus the Catholics

This single-sheet newspaper is a fascinating paper published during this time of struggle between Catholics and Protestants in government.
News is entirely from England & Scotland, with most of a column taken up with advertisements.
Complete as a single sheet issue, 7 by 11 1/2 inches, nice condition.

Background: This specific issue of The Impartial Protestant Mercury from January 1681/2 captures England at a precarious tipping point immediately following the Exclusion Crisis (1679–1681) and the hysteria of the Popish Plot. During this time, the nation was bitterly divided between Whigs (Protestants who sought to legally exclude the Catholic James, Duke of York, from inheriting the throne) and Tories (who supported the hereditary monarchy). By early 1682, King Charles II had dissolved Parliament to block the Exclusion bills and began a aggressive political crackdown against Protestant dissenters and Whig leaders, effectively steering England toward absolute monarchy. This newspaper serves as a direct artifact of that intense propaganda war; partisan, single-sheet "Mercuries" like this were vital weapons used to rally the Protestant public, inflame anti-Catholic sentiment, and shape the volatile public discourse that ultimately laid the ideological groundwork for the Glorious Revolution of 1688.