The Very First Assassination Attempt With A Firearm...


On January 23, 1570, the first assassination attempt with a firearm known to history is carried out:

At Linlithgow (Scotland), nobleman James Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh shoots...





...repeatedly on the Scottish regent James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray...:



The original murder weapon, the "Bothwellhaugh Carbine", no longer survives, but a contemporary drawing exists in the possession of Lord Hamilton, a descendant of the assassin. The brass plaque with which the weapon was marked after the assassination can be clearly seen on the butt...:



In addition to political reasons (Hamilton sees his clan at a disadvantage), personal feelings of revenge also play a role for the assassin:
The regent had confiscated large portions of his lands and distributed them to his minions.

Stewart is so badly injured that he dies the same day. His corpse is shown in the next picture - the gunshot wounds are clearly visible...:


The assassination triggers another - even more brutal - round in the Scottish Civil War that will last until 1688.

Incidentally, the assassin is able to escape and is said to have died peacefully in bed in 1585 (after being imprisoned in Holland due to a failed assassination attempt on William of Orange); whether in Paris or Scotland is disputed.

That's interesting. Amazing that Hamilton was not apprehended. Maybe folk thought he had done Scotland a service as Stewart of Moray was not well liked.
I have an issue with the picture of the assassin's weapon. The picture distinctly shows a flintlock, a type of ignition devised in the late 1500s by Simon Markwort, a German master gunmaker. The gun stock is possibly correct for the period, of German/Czech/Italian design but more applicable to wheel-lock guns. Curiously, both pictures of Hamilton show him holding what appears to be a wheel-lock carbine. The contemporary picture of the carbine is a hotch-potch of pieces from different eras and unlikely to represent the one that killed Stewart.
Good post Martin - I wondered what 23rd Jan would throw up, as it's my birthday

Phil

Congrats mate!


Cheers

Belated Birthday Felicitations, Phil I hope full indulgence was granted for suitable celebratory libations . I've now run out of big pretentious words .

Cheers, Alan

Thanks chaps - I've now decided I'll stop counting......

Phil