The Awful End of Prince William the Silent: The First Assassination of a Head of State with a Handgun

In this innovative and engaging work of history, distinguished author Lisa Jardine shows how the first killing by handgun of a head of state had a profound effect on the course of history. The shooting of Prince William of Orange by a French Catholic in 1584 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 demonstrates, 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 on one's person and used to deadly means at point-blank range. Queen Elizabeth I, William's close Protestant ally, was devastated by his death and, as the object of assassination plots herself, was thrown into panic. The English parliament soon enacted legislation making it an offense to bring a pistol anywhere near a royal palace. Elizabeth's terror was not misplaced.As Jardine observes, William's assassination was the first in a long and bloody line that would include the murders of President Lincoln in 1865 and Archduke Ferdinand in 1914 -- a terror that is all too relevant today.

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