Despard Plot

The Despard Plot was a failed 1802 conspiracy by British revolutionaries led by Colonel Edward Despard, a former army officer and colonial official. Evidence presented in court suggested that Despard planned to assassinate the monarch George III and seize key strong points in London such as the Bank of England and Tower of London as a prelude to a wider uprising by the population of the city.

The plot was discovered by the authorities and resulted in the trial and execution of Despard and six of his co-conspirators for High Treason. Despard's execution on 21 February 1803 was attended by a crowd of around 20,000, the largest public gathering until the funeral of Lord Nelson two years later following the Battle of Trafalgar.^[1]

References

Bibliography

• Conner, Clifford D., Colonel Despard: The Life and Times of an Anglo-Irish Rebel Combined Publishing 2000.
• Jay, Mike. The Unfortunate Colonel Despard. Bantam Press, 2005.