Antoine de Guiscard
Antoine de Guiscard (1658 – 17 March 1711), also known as the Marquis de Guiscard or the Abbé de la Bourlie, was a French refugee, spy and double agent who attempted to assassinate
Career
He was born into a distinguished family, being a younger brother of the Count de Guiscard who was appointed the first French Governor of
He arrived in England in 1705, where he attempted to interest the authorities, such as diplomat
By 1706, he had convinced Queen Anne's government to pay him a pension of 600 guineas as well as entertain the thought of leading an invasion of Normandy in support of the previously mentioned uprising. To this end, he was given command of a regiment to land at Normandy and incite the revolt but the landing ultimately never took place. This, in combination with no meaningful intelligence or impact eventually led to a steady decline of Guiscard's credibility among the British court as well as a decrease in income.
The attempt on Harley's life
In 1711, enraged by his lack of reward, he began a counterplot with the French Crown, which was quickly detected, leading to his arrest and his appearance before the Council, where he attempted to kill Harley. Why he was allowed into the Council meeting carrying a knife is unknown: the most likely explanation is that he had not been searched thoroughly enough, as the British Government at the time was surprisingly lax about security.
Harley, though stabbed and bruised, recovered: his survival was generally attributed to the fact that he was wearing an ornate gold brocade waistcoat, which acted as a shield against the penknife. In the ensuing fracas Guiscard was attacked by several members of the Council and fatally wounded, most likely by James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde. Guiscard implored Ormonde to finish the deed, but Ormonde refused, saying that it was not for him to cheat the hangman. Belatedly the Council realised that Guiscard should be kept alive for questioning, and some effort was made to preserve his life, but he died just over a week later in Newgate Prison.
The unsuccessful attempt to murder Harley had major political consequences. Harley's popularity, which had been on the decline, recovered at once, as a wave of rejoicing at his survival swept the country, and even his enemies praised his courage in the face of danger.
References
- Andrew, Christopher The Secret World: A History of Intelligence Yale University Press London 2018, pp. 266–267
- Foot, Michael The Pen and the Sword- Jonathan Swift and the Power of the Press HarperCollins London 1984
- Gregg, Edward Queen Anne Yale University Press 1980
- Hamilton, Elizabeth The Backstairs Dragon- a life of Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford London Hamish Hamilton 1969
- Jones, Peter (1982) "Antoine de Guiscard, 'Abbé de la Bourlie', 'Marquis de Guiscard'" British Library Journal, 1982 articles, pp. 94–113