The Awful End of Prince William the Silent - The First Assassination of a Head of State with a Hand-Gun

The illustrious ''Making History Series'', edited by Lisa Jardine and Amanda Foreman, explores an eclectic mix of history''s tipping points. In ''The Awful End of Prince William the Silent'', series editor Lisa Jardine explores the historical ramifications of just such an instance, the first assassination of a head of state with a hand-held gun. The shooting of Prince William of Orange in the hallway of his Delft residence in July 1584 by a French Catholic - the second attempt on his life - had immediate political consequences: it was a serious setback for the Protestant cause in the Netherlands, as its forces fought for independence from the Catholic rule of the Hapsburg empire. But, as Jardine brilliantly illustrates, its implications for those in positions of power were even more far-reaching, as the assassination heralded the arrival of a lethal new threat to the security of nations - a pistol that could be concealed and used to deadly effect at point-blank range. Queen Elizabeth I, William''s close Protestant ally, was devastated by his death and thrown into panic; in the aftermath of William''s death, legislation was enacted in the English parliament making it an offence to bring a pistol anywhere near a royal palace. Elizabeth''s terror was not misplaced - as Jardine observes, this assassination was the first in a long and bloody line including those of Abraham Lincoln in 1865 and Archduke Ferdinand in 1914 and is all too relevant today.

About the author

Lisa Jardine is Director of the Research Centre for Editing Lives and Letters, and Professor of Renaissance Studies at Queen Mary, University of London; she is an Honorary Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge.

Product details

• Authors: Lisa Jardine
• Publisher: Harper Perennial UK
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 19.06.2006
• EAN: 9780007192588
• ISBN: 978-0-00-719258-8
• Dimensions: 129 mm x 198 mm x 11 mm
• Series: Making History; Making History
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature > Letters, diaries; Humanities, art, music > History > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > History > Biographies, autobiographies; European History, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Historical, Biography: historical, political & military, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Royalty, HISTORY / Europe / General, Netherlands, Biography: royalty, 17th century, c 1600 to c 1699, Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700, Biography: historical, political and military, 16th century, c 1500 to c 1599, Prince William Orange