196:, Despard's wife, who caused considerable dismay. A woman of African descent, she had accompanied her husband from Central America to London in 1790. Active in prisoners' rights, she formed a link between her husband and the other revolutionaries with their colleagues and families outside the prison. She had worked for improvement of prison conditions, including the necessities of life: warmth, fresh air, food, space, writing materials, and access to friends and families. She was, essentially, a courier between the condemned and the outside world, and furthermore an intrepid correspondent. The prison wardens feared she was smuggling goods in and out of the prison, but feared to search her. It was she who had approached Lord Nelson to speak at the trial, and he made further applications to the government on behalf of Despard and his compatriots.
189:, expressed his concern over the size of the crowds that assembled during the day and evenings near the jail. He had trouble hiring workmen to build the scaffold; the jailer feared to leave the safety of the prison; and he deployed over 100 armed soldiers throughout the neighbourhood on the night before the execution. Handbills calling on the people to rise had been distributed and the authorities feared the possibility of a riot, if not an outright attempt to free the prisoners. The prisoners remained recalcitrant, especially Despard, refusing to discuss their plans or to reveal the identities of any others who might have been involved in the plot.
22:
102:(of which Despard was a member) was treasonous. Because of this, many of the details focused on the attempted assassination of Despard's plot, as this is what prosecutors focused on. Informers claimed that John Wood offered to post himself sentry with a cannon to fire at the King's carriage as it was going to what was then called
225:
identified the
Despard affair as "an incident of real significance in British political history". It appeared to "justify the Government's policy of 'alarm' and of the suspension of popular liberties". At the same time, for Jacobin ultras it initiated "the strategy (or, perhaps, fantasy) of the coup
125:
Although seemingly conclusive, Pryce's evidence was not used in court; this was because the authorities wondered why he had failed to make contact with them in
February when this happened. While the trial (and thus information about the plot) was mostly focused on the attempted assassination of the
142:
There was little physical evidence produced during this trial. The only pieces were printed copies of the United
Englishmen's constitution which called for independence for Britain and Ireland, equal rights, and compensation for those who fall in the struggle to achieve these ideals. Although the
113:
Sir Edward O'Brien Pryce approached authorities the day of
Despard's arrest to offer evidence against Despard. Pryce claimed that, through notes, Despard had offered him unlimited sums of money in exchange for advice on making underground bombs. Despard, it was alleged, had sent him a diagram of
74:
on 16 November 1802 while attending a meeting of 40 working men at the Oakley Arms tavern: eight carpenters, five labourers, two shoemakers, two hatters, a stonemason, a clockmaker, a plasterer (formerly a sailor), and a wood cutter had been among the arrested. Many had been soldiers, including
49:
as a prelude to a wider uprising by the population of the city. The
British Government was aware of the plot five months before the scheduled date of attack, but waited to arrest to gain enough evidence. One week before the scheduled attack, Despard and his co-conspirators were arrested at the
159:(who had earlier been suspected of complicity), distanced themselves from Despard's failure. The jury concluded that Despard's words had been freely given in public spaces and thus was judged as sane. Although judged sane, public society deemed Despard and his plan mad.
114:
boxes with spring locks containing three powder barrels surrounded by balls and metal spikes. These were to be buried under the road and detonated by connecting wire. Bombs were to be placed in three locations: the road to
95:; the neighbourhood was a hotbed of continued resistance to exploitation both parliamentary and economic. An area where the government stood was referred to as "Man Eaters," and Parliament as the "Den of Thieves."
185:
The proposed execution raised considerable anxiety, given that it was to be in an area congested by working men (exactly the kind of man to whom
Despard had appealed) and the chief magistrate, Sir
992:
977:
182:; the jury was also unsure about the lack of solid evidence and, consequently, Despard and his colleagues were found guilty of high treason but the jury recommended mercy.
87:
had not extinguished the oath of the United Irish or the brotherhood of affection and communion of rights it expressed". The tavern was immediately down the road from the
54:
on suspicion of plotting an uprising. Despard's execution on 21 February 1803 was attended by a crowd of around 20,000, the largest public gathering until the funeral of
170:, there was little legal distinction between plotting treason and committing treason. The jury was impressed by the Colonel's character references such as that given by
163:
commented on this distinction, "If you abhor treason, you are told
Despard was a madman; if you are discontented with public affairs, you are told he was a hero."
110:, would agree to non-regicidal changes in government. Though that may be true, evidence produced at the trial suggests that Despard did indeed consider regicide.
151:, another possible attempted assassin of King George III, Colonel Despard's sanity was questioned during the trial. Many of Despard's contemporaries, including
957:
1022:
106:. It is unlikely that Despard favoured this plan, as it was viewed as very dangerous and still hoped that men in high places, such as the politician
583:
199:
Those executed were
Despard, John Francis, John Wood, James Sedgewick, Thomas Broughton, Arthur Graham, and John Macnamara. They were executed in
98:
Although the plot was highly publicised, details of the trial have never been released. In 1794 the
British government failed to prove that the
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made these constitutions stronger evidence for rebellion, but not necessarily for regicide. Like the similar case of
91:, the first London steam-powered mill which had been burned in 1791, part of the direct, anonymous resistance to the
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The Many-Headed Hydra: Sailors, Slaves, Commoners, and the Hidden
History of the Revolutionary Atlantica
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The Many-Headed Hydra: Sailors, Slaves, Commoners, and the Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic
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United Englishmen's constitution was revolutionary, there was little evidence of planned regicide. The
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Walsh, P. V.. (2000). "Review of Colonel Despard: The Life and Times of an Anglo-Irish Rebel".
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gate, and an exit of Buckingham House, opposite the gate into the lower part of Green Park.
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Smith, A. W. (1955). "Irish Rebels and English Radicals 1798–1820. Past & Present".
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Sir Edward O'Brien Pryce (indebted baronet and former officer in service to the King),
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used to claim that "the mass terror of killing, torture, and deportation following the
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134:. They hoped that these attacks would set off uprisings all over the country.
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The politics of regicide in England, 1760–1850: Troublesome subjects.
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King, Despard and his co-conspirators also contemplated the seizure of the
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Plots and Paranoia: a history of political espionage in Britain, 1790–1988
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and a military rising of the Third Grenadiers stationed at the
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was a failed 1802 conspiracy by British revolutionaries led by
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Colonel Despard: The Life and Times of an Anglo-Irish Rebel
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Oman, C. W. C. (1928). "The Last Days of Colonel Despard".
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Manchester : New York: Manchester University Press,.
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Despard, and several were Irishmen who had served in the
393:. Manchester University Press. pp. 62, 135–138.
535:Irish Rebels and English Radicals 1798–1820.
41:and seize key strong points in London such as the
25:Etching by Barlow (based on sketch taken at trial)
487:. (1977). The "Despard Conspiracy" Reconsidered.
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145:1797 Act Against Administering Unlawful Oaths
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310:. London, Boston: Unwin Hyman. p. 28.
192:A further problem for the authorities was
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346:, Beacon Press, 2013, pp. 229–230.
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1023:Democratic Republic of the Congo (2024)
993:Democratic Republic of the Congo (2022)
451:The Making of the English Working Class
218:The Making of the English Working Class
16:1802 conspiracy to kill King George III
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430:(169). Oxford University Press: 83.
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453:. New York: Pantheon. p. 527.
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226:d'etat" that was to issue in the
70:Despard had been arrested by the
178:, who had been his companion in
549:The Journal of Military History
500:The Unfortunate Colonel Despard
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323:The Unfortunate Colonel Despard
118:, between Buckingham House and
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58:two years later following the
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540:, (7), 78–85. Retrieved from
424:The English Historical Review
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35:Colonel Edward Marcus Despard
523:London; Boston: Unwin Hyman.
207:on Monday 21 February 1803.
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100:London Corresponding Society
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403:Rediker, pp. 251–252.
366:The London Gazette, Part I.
355:Rediker, pp. 250–251.
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449:Thompson, E. P. (1964).
306:Porter, Bernard (1989).
780:Portuguese India (1787)
632:Mamluk Sultanate (1386)
598:Before the 16th century
85:Irish Rebellion of 1798
617:Roman Republic (63 BC)
592:Plots and conspiracies
533:Smith, A. W.. (1955).
287:Cite journal requires
228:Cato Street Conspiracy
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902:United Kingdom (1968)
836:United Kingdom (1820)
516:, Beacon Press, 2013.
502:. Bantam Press, 2005.
477:Conner, Clifford D.,
389:Poole, Steve (2000).
93:Industrial Revolution
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519:Porter, B. (1989).
60:Battle of Trafalgar
50:Oakley Arms pub in
968:Ivory Coast (2012)
851:Philippines (1828)
688:Philippines (1587)
538:Past & Present
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498:Jay, Mike.
172:Evan Nepean
56:Lord Nelson
1048:Categories
246:References
166:Under the
77:Royal Navy
39:George III
712:Main Plot
551:, 64(4),
230:of 1820.
205:Southwark
138:The trial
120:Hyde Park
707:Bye Plot
234:See also
221:(1963),
180:Honduras
66:The plot
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153:Cobbett
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