Description:Amongst Sir William’s personal papers are a number of documents relating to an incident involving the Duke of Monmouth. These documents include depositions and letters relating to the questioning of witnesses in a case accusing Sir William of treason against the Crown.
Who was the Duke of Monmouth?
The Duke of Monmouth, James Scott (1649-1685), was the illegitimate son of King Charles II. When Charles was restored to the throne in 1660, James quickly became popular at court and it was widely speculated that Charles would declare him as legitimate. This would have meant that James would be a possible successor to the throne, in competition with the Duke of York.
However, throughout the early years of Charles’s reign, English Protestants were growing increasingly suspicious of the Catholic sympathies shared by Charles and his brother James. In 1683 the Rye House Plot planned to overthrow King Charles and his suspected successor the Duke of York. The Duke of Monmouth was also involved in this plot and was forced into exile for his actions against the King.
On Charles’s death his brother James came to the throne as James II. In 1685 the Duke of Monmouth led a rebellion (the Monmouth Rebellion) which attempted to overthrow James and declare Monmouth as the rightful king.
Throughout the l670s and 80s numerous conspiracy theories arose about Monmouth’s treasonous attempts to claim the throne. Documents in the Sutherland Papers demonstrate how these conspiracy theories escalated into accusations of treason as accounts of events passed between people.
The image above shows the Deposition of Thomas Pershall relating to the Monmouth incident, 1685
To learn more about this intriguing case, click on the images on the left.
Contextual information from Tim Harris, ‘Scott [Crofts], James, duke of Monmouth and first duke of Buccleuch (1649–1685)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Oct 2007 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/24879]