Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Taylor on the Duke of Buckingham

George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham (Taylor Swope)

George Villiers was known by many different names, some of which include: 1st Duke of Buckingham, Sir George Villiers, Baron Whaddon, Viscount Villiers, Earl of Buckingham, and Marquess of Buckingham. Villiers almost had more names that he was known by than years that he was alive; he was born on August 28, 1592 and he died on August 23, 1628. Although Villiers was known by many, using many different names, he was not liked by many people at all. He was the ruler during the last years of King James I’s reign and also for the first years of Charles I’s reign. Villiers and his “aggressive, erratic” foreign policy lead to tensions being high, which brought upon the Civil War between the royalists and the parliamentarians. 
​Villiers was the mastermind behind many failed attempts to create partnerships and relationships with other groups of people. A few examples of these are when he tried to arrange a marriage between Charles (King Charles I) and the daughter of the Spanish king and the marriage between the French Roman Catholic Princess, Henrietta Maria. The marriage of Henrietta Maria ended up happening, but it didn’t create the relationships and deals that he wished it would have(Britannica 1).
​One of the many people who didn’t like Villiers actually went as far as to assassinate him. The man who did this is John Felton, who was a member of the Cadiz expedition and also the Isle of Rhé expedition. Once Felton returned to England he was wounded and extremely upset with Villiers, because he prevented Felton from getting a promotion. Upon return to England, The House of Commons’ was lodging attacks on Villiers, and this convinced Felton that he was not the only person who fell victim to Villiers. These accusations and attacks are what sent Felton over the edge, and he decided to kill Villiers. 
​After Felton decided that he was going to kill Villiers, he wrote a declaration to show what his intentions were and he sewed it into his hate. At the Greyhound Inn in Portsmouth, on August 23, 1628, Felton stabbed Villiers in the chest. Felton was soon taken into custody and told the police officers that he was working alone, during the interrogation. He was found guilty of the assassination and was executed on Tyburn Hill on November 29, 1628. After his execution, Felton’s body was sent back to Portsmouth and was hung up for everyone to see in public. Even though Felton was found to be guilty and was executed because of his actions, what he did was toasted all throughout Britain. There were crowds that would crowd around the prison that he was at and would call down God’s blessing on him. There were even poets who would write and create lyrical on his deed. 
​After Villiers’ death, there was no right-hand-man that was helping to rule under King Charles I, but rather his wife, Henrietta Maria played a larger role in his life. After Villiers’ death, it was also possible for Charles I to reconcile his relationship with John Digby, Early of Bristol. This is due to the fact that many of Charles’ relationships were strained or gone because of Villiers and the ruling that he was doing. Villiers was never actually in power, he was just extremely close with those who were in power and he was calling all of the shots and making all of the rules(Sommerville 1). 



Works Cited
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 24 Aug. 2018, www.britannica.com/biography/George-Villiers-1st-duke-of-Buckingham.
Sommerville, J.P. “The Death of Buckingham.” The Peasants Revoltfaculty.history.wisc.edu/sommerville/123/123%20302%201629.htm

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