Robert Ferguson (c. 1637–1714) was a Scottish presbyterian minister, conspirator and political pamphleteer, known as "the Plotter".

Ancestry

He was the eldest son of William Ferguson (d. 1699) of Badifurrow,

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and Janet Black. His father disinherited him so the lands of Badifurrow passed to Ferguson's younger brother William, who pre-deceased William senior, so the lands were inherited by

James Ferguson James Ferguson may refer to: Entertainment * Jim Ferguson (born 1948), American jazz and classical guitarist * Jim Ferguson, American guitarist, past member of Lotion (band), Lotion * Jim Ferguson, American movie critic, Board of Directors member ...

who immediately sold the estate and purchased Pitfour. Buchan (2008): p. 8 Ferguson & Fergusson (1895): p. 245 Davidson (1878): p. 374 Another younger brother was Major General James Ferguson. Davidson (1878): p. 376

Life

After receiving a good education, probably at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

, became a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

(Church of Scotland) minister. According to Bishop Burnet he was cast out by the Presbyterians, but whether this be so or not, he soon made his way to England and became

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of Godmersham,

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, from which living he was expelled by the

Act of Uniformity 1662 The Act of Uniformity 1662 ( 14 Cha. 2. c. 4) is an act of the Parliament of England. (It was formerly cited as 13 & 14 Cha. 2. c. 4, by reference to the regnal year when it was passed on 19 May 1662.) It prescribed the form of public prayer ...

. Some years later, having gained a reputation as a theological controversialist and become a person of importance among the Nonconformists, he attracted the notice of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury and the party which favoured the exclusion of the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...

from the throne, and he began to write political pamphlets just at the time when the feeling against the Roman Catholics was at its height. In 1680 he wrote "A Letter to a Person of Honour concerning the 'Black Box,'" in which he supported the claim of the Duke of Monmouth to the crown against that of the Duke of York here was said to be a black box that contained a marriage contract between Charles II and Lucy WalterMacaulay, ''History of England'', Chapter 2 Returning to the subject after Charles II had solemnly denied the existence of a marriage between himself and Lucy Walter. He took an active part in the controversy over the Exclusion Bill, and claimed to be the author of the whole of the pamphlet "No Protestant Plot" (1681), parts of which are usually ascribed to Shaftesbury. Ferguson was deeply implicated in the Rye House Plot, although he asserted that he had frustrated both this and a subsequent attempt to assassinate the king, and he fled to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

with Shaftesbury in 1682, returning to England early in 1683. For his share in another plot against Charles II he was declared an

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them. ...

, after which he entered into communication with

Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll Archibald may refer to: People and characters *Archibald (name), a masculine given name and a surname * Archibald (musician) (1916–1973), American R&B pianist * Archibald, a character from the animated TV show '' Archibald the Koala'' Other us ...

, Monmouth and other malcontents. Ferguson then took a leading part in organizing the rising of 1685. Having overcome Monmouth's reluctance to take part in this movement, he accompanied the duke to the west of England and drew up the manifesto against James II, escaping to the Netherlands after the

Battle of Sedgemoor The Battle of Sedgemoor was the last and decisive engagement between forces loyal to James II and rebels led by the Duke of Monmouth during the Monmouth rebellion, fought on 6 July 1685, and took place at Westonzoyland near Bridgwater in S ...

. He landed in England with

William III of Orange William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 167 ...

in 1688, and aided William's cause with his pen, but William and his advisers did not regard him as a person of importance, although his services were rewarded with a sinecure appointment in the

Excise file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...

. Chagrined at this treatment, Ferguson was soon in correspondence with the exiled Jacobites. He shared in all the plots against the life of William, and after his removal from the Excise in 1692 wrote violent pamphlets against the government. Although he was several times arrested on suspicion, he was never brought to trial. He died in great poverty, leaving behind him a great and deserved reputation for treachery. It has been thought by Macaulay and others that Ferguson led the English government to believe that he was a spy in their interests, and that his frequent escapes from justice were due to official connivance. In a proclamation issued for his arrest in 1683 he is described as "a tall lean man, dark brown hair, a great Roman nose, thin-jawed, heat in his face, speaks in the Scottish accent, a sharp piercing eye, stoops a little in the shoulders."

Works

Besides numerous pamphlets, Ferguson wrote: ''No Protestant-plot; or, the present pretended conspiracy of Protestants against the king and government, discovered to be a conspiracy of the Papists against the king and his Protestant-subjects'' (1682), ''History of the Revolution'' (1706); ''Qualifications requisite in a Minister of State'' (1710); and part of the ''History of all the Mobs, Tumults and Insurrections in Great Britain'' (London, 1715).

References

Footnotes

Bibliography