David McLane (c. 176721July 1797), also sometimes referred to as David McLean or David M'Lane, was a merchant from
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
. He was hanged at
Quebec City
Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...
as a
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
spy by the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
authorities.
Biography
Little is known of McLane's life. He may have been born in
Ayrshire
Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...
, Scotland, and has been described as "an insolvent architect-merchant."
McLane was accused of attempting to organize a surprise attack on the garrison at Quebec City based on testimony of a number of witnesses, including William Barnard and
John Black. At the time, Great Britain was expecting trouble in its colonies because many colonists were expressing support for the ideals of the
French Revolution. McLane was arrested at Black's home in Quebec City. Despite the fact that McLane was not a resident of Canada and that some of the testimony given against him may not have been credible, in July 1797 he was found guilty of treason by a jury and sentenced to suffer a traitors death of being
hanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered was a method of torture, torturous capital punishment used principally to execute men convicted of High treason in the United Kingdom, high treason in medieval and early modern Britain and Ireland. The convi ...
. He was hanged outside the walls of the town, then decapitated and disembowelled. McLane was about thirty years old at the time of his death. The
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
government chose to ignore the affair in order to maintain relations with Great Britain.
Citations
References
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Further reading
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:McLane, David
1760s births
1797 deaths
18th-century executions of American people
People executed in British North America by hanging
American people executed in Canada
Executed spies
People executed by the Province of Quebec (1763–1791)
People executed by the Kingdom of Great Britain
18th-century spies
Merchants from colonial Rhode Island
18th-century American merchants