The Manchester Papers are a group of over 1,000 letters and other documents concerning the professional and political activities of Charles Montagu, 1st Duke of Manchester. The collection spans the dates 1697-1737, but the bulk of the material dates from between 1698 and 1708, the years of Manchester's embassies to Venice and Paris.
The collection consists of fifteen albums, two letterbooks, and one box of unbound letters. The items in the albums are arranged in a rough chronological order.
Volume 16 contains copies of letters written by Manchester to William Blathwayt and James Vernon during his service as Ambassador to Paris in 1700-01. The letters provide much information on political events, including the proclamation of the duc d'Anjou as King of Spain, the mounting preparations for war, and the break in relations between England and France following Louis XIV's recognition of James III in violation of the Treaty of Ryswick. There are descriptions of "Jacobite intrigues," life at Versailles, and events in the Low Countries.
Volume 17 contains copies of thirty letters written by Manchester in French between January and April of 1702. They are mainly brief business letters or requests for information. The letters in Box 18 consist mainly of business letters by Manchester to William Blathwayt written between 1699 and 1701.