Ruytergeld.
In feudal Holland a tax paid in lieu of military service, similar to scutage.
Rye House Plot.
A Whig conspiracy to assassinate Charles II in 1683. It was revealed by one of the conspirators, and its ringleaders, Russell and Sidney, were convicted and executed, while the Earl of Essex died by his own hand in prison.
Ryotwari.
The system of land taxation in India by which every peasant farmer is looked upon as the proprietor of his land, and pays his taxes direct to the Government. It is the opposite of the Zemindari system, the survival of the system practised under Mogul Emperors, where the Zemindar was responsible for the taxation of a certain district.
Ryswick, Treaty of.
A treaty signed in 1697 between France, England, Holland and Spain, ending the War of the League of Augsburg, whereby Louis XIV surrendered all his conquests since the Treaty of Nimeguen in 1678, and agreed to acknowledge William III as King of England, and to withdraw his support from James. A month later the Emperor Leopold, who was not a signatory of the first treaty, signed a separate instrument, by which he recovered all Louis’ conquests except Strasburg, including all the French fortifications on the right bank of the Rhine. Lorraine was restored to the Duke Leopold, with the proviso that passage should be granted when required to the troops of France.