On January 23, 1570, the first assassination attempt was carried out with a firearm that is known in history - in Scotland!

In Linlithgow the nobleman James Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh ...





... shoots several times on the Scottish regent James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray ...:




The original murder weapon, the "Bothwellhaugh Carbine", is - oity - not preserved, but there is a contemporary drawing 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 disadvantaged), personal feelings of revenge also play a role for Hamliton:
The regent had confiscated much of his land and had distributed it to his favorites.

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




The attack triggers another - even more brutal - round in the Scottish Civil War, which will continue until 1688.

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


Cheers