Rye House Conspiracy

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rye House around 1823

The Rye House Conspiracy , English "Rye House Plot" , was a failed conspiracy in 1683 with the aim to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother and heir to the throne Jacob , Duke of York, because of their pro-Catholic policies.

The name Rye House (German: Roggenhaus) is derived from the name of the manor house in which the conspiracy was to be realized.

course

After the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II in 1660, there were concerns among members of parliament, former republicans and the general Protestant population that the ties of the king to France were too close under Louis XIV and other Catholic European rulers. Reservations about Catholics were widespread and centered on the question of succession to the throne. Although Charles II was a Protestant, he and his brother were known to have sympathy with Catholics. These assumptions were confirmed when Jacob announced in 1670 that he would convert to the Catholic faith - after the death of Charles II, a Catholic would now succeed the English throne, the first since Maria Tudor.

In 1681 the parliament tried to exclude Jakob from the line of succession. Charles II outwitted his opponents and finally dissolved parliament. This caused his opponents to prevent Jacob's succession to the throne by unlawful means and rumors of conspiracies and overturns made the rounds.

Rye House, a manor in Hoddesdon , Hertfordshire , belonged to Richard Rumbold, well-known as a Republican. According to the plan, a troop of a hundred armed men would hide in the house and ambush the King and Duke on their way home from the Newmarket horse race back to London.

The conspirators expected the king and his brother to ride to London on April 1, 1683. In Newmarket, however, a great fire broke out on March 22, 1683, which destroyed half the city. The races were canceled and the King and Duke returned to London early. So the conspiracy ultimately failed.

Details of the conspiracy leaked out, and Charles II and his entourage acted quickly. Many of the MPs who are well known as Protestants were arrested. Among them were Algernon Sidney , William, Lord Russell and Sir Thomas Armstrong .

literature

Web links and sources