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Executed for involvement in the Rye House Plot... West Indies clear of pirates...
Executed for involvement in the Rye House Plot... West Indies clear of pirates...
Item # 689360
November 02, 1685
THE LONDON GAZETTE, England, Nov. 2, 1685
* Charles II of England & brother
* Rye House assassination plot
* John Ayloffe execution - hanging
The back page has a report noting: "This day Richard Nelthorp and John Ayloff were executed, the first before Grays-Inn, and the latter before the Temple Gate."
The front page has a report from Madrid noting in part: "...We have an account from the West Indies that the South Sea is quite cleared of Pirates; That 1500 thousand pieces of eight had been brought to Panama on the Kings account...".
Complete as a single sheet newspaper, 6 1/2 by 11 inches, some front page foxing, good condition.
AI notes: John Ayloffe, a radical English lawyer, satirist, and fervent opponent of the Stuart monarchy, was executed on 30 October 1685 for his involvement in the Rye House Plot and subsequent participation in Argyll’s Rising. A vocal supporter of Whig ideals, Ayloffe had long criticized royal authority through both political agitation and biting pamphleteering, including the anonymous satire Marvell’s Ghost. After the Rye House Plot—an aborted conspiracy to assassinate King Charles II and his brother James—was exposed in 1683, Ayloffe fled to the Dutch Republic but returned to Britain in 1685 to support the Protestant rebellion led by the Earl of Argyll against King James II. Captured during the failed uprising, Ayloffe reportedly attempted suicide and was brought back to London in a wounded state. Despite intense pressure, he refused to name accomplices or express contrition. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Temple Gate, and his remains were displayed at Temple Bar as a grim warning. His final words, including the legendary rebuke to King James—“Though it is in your power, it is not in your nature to pardon”—solidified his legacy as a symbol of principled defiance during a time of intense political repression.
Complete as a single sheet newspaper, 6 1/2 by 11 inches, some front page foxing, good condition.
AI notes: John Ayloffe, a radical English lawyer, satirist, and fervent opponent of the Stuart monarchy, was executed on 30 October 1685 for his involvement in the Rye House Plot and subsequent participation in Argyll’s Rising. A vocal supporter of Whig ideals, Ayloffe had long criticized royal authority through both political agitation and biting pamphleteering, including the anonymous satire Marvell’s Ghost. After the Rye House Plot—an aborted conspiracy to assassinate King Charles II and his brother James—was exposed in 1683, Ayloffe fled to the Dutch Republic but returned to Britain in 1685 to support the Protestant rebellion led by the Earl of Argyll against King James II. Captured during the failed uprising, Ayloffe reportedly attempted suicide and was brought back to London in a wounded state. Despite intense pressure, he refused to name accomplices or express contrition. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Temple Gate, and his remains were displayed at Temple Bar as a grim warning. His final words, including the legendary rebuke to King James—“Though it is in your power, it is not in your nature to pardon”—solidified his legacy as a symbol of principled defiance during a time of intense political repression.
Category: The 1600's and 1700's
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$81.00
