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Events on Wednesday 3 May 1747 2
1747First Battle of Cape FinisterreRoyal Navy under Anson routs a French convoy escortA British fleet commanded by Admiral George Anson intercepted and defeated a French squadron escorting convoys to the East and West Indies off the coast of Galicia. The victory netted several French warships and merchant vessels and boosted British naval prestige during the War of the Austrian Succession.
1747William IV restored as hereditary stadtholderDutch Republic turns to the House of Orange amid French invasion fearsFacing a French invasion of Dutch territory during the War of the Austrian Succession, the States of Holland and Zeeland appointed William IV of Orange as their hereditary stadtholder, ending decades without an Orange stadtholder in those provinces. Popular unrest and distrust of the ruling oligarchy drove the sudden shift, which spread to the remaining provinces over the following months.