The Bond of Association was a document created in 1584 by
Francis Walsingham and
William Cecil after the failure of the
Throckmorton Plot in 1583. Its purpose was to deter attempts to assassinate
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
.
Contents
The document obliged all signatories to execute any person that:
*attempted to usurp the throne
*successfully usurped the throne
*made an attempt on Elizabeth's life
*successfully assassinated Elizabeth
In the last case, the document also made it obligatory for the signatories to hunt down the killer.
Royal approval
Elizabeth authorised the Bond to achieve statutory authority.
Implications
The Bond of Association was a response to the assassination of
William the Silent
William the Silent or William the Taciturn (; 24 April 153310 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburg Netherlands, Habsburgs that set off the ...
in July 1584, and the continuing threat posed to Elizabeth I by the supporters of
Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567.
The only surviving legit ...
as a
rival claimant to the English throne, in the aftermath of the discovery of the Throckmorton Plot.
Mary, Queen of Scots, was herself a signatory of the bond, giving her assent at
Wingfield Manor on 5 January 1585. In March 1585, the Bond of Association was in part incorporated in the
Act for the Queen's Safety.
The Bond was a key legal precedent for the
execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1587. Walsingham discovered alleged evidence that Mary, in a letter to
Anthony Babington, had given her approval to a plot to assassinate Elizabeth and by Right of Succession take the English throne.
[ Robert Hutchinson, ''Elizabeth's Spymaster: Francis Walsingham and the Secret War that saved England'' (London: Phoenix, 2007), p. 118.]
See also
*
Association of Mary, Queen of Scots, and James VI
References
*
* {{Cite book
, last = Ridley
, first = Jasper
, date = 1987
, title = Elizabeth I: The Shrewdness of Virtue
, publisher = Fromm International
, pages = 254
1584 in law
Monarchy of the United Kingdom
Succession to Elizabeth I