Sir Francis Walsingham summary

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Sir Francis Walsingham, (born c. 1532, probably Footscray, Kent, Eng.—died April 6, 1590, London), English statesman and adviser to Queen Elizabeth I (1573–90). A member of Parliament from 1563, he became ambassador to the French court (1570–73) and established friendly relations between France and England. He was admitted to the Privy Council in 1573 and became secretary of state to Elizabeth I. Although not allowed to pursue an independent policy, he faithfully executed Elizabeth’s foreign policy. He proved invaluable in uncovering conspiracies by Catholics against Elizabeth’s life, including the plots by Francis Throckmorton (1583) and Anthony Babington (1586) to free Mary, Queen of Scots.

conspiracy Summary

Conspiracy, in common law, an agreement between two or more persons to commit an unlawful act or to accomplish a lawful end by unlawful means. Conspiracy is perhaps the most amorphous area in Anglo-American criminal law. Its terms are vaguer and more elastic than any conception of conspiracy to be

intelligence Summary

Intelligence, in government and military operations, evaluated information concerning the strength, activities, and probable courses of action of foreign countries or nonstate actors that are usually, though not always, enemies or opponents. The term also is used to refer to the collection,

government Summary

Government, the political system by which a country or community is administered and regulated. Most of the key words commonly used to describe governments—words such as monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy—are of Greek or Roman origin. They have been current for more than 2,000 years and have not

England Summary

England, predominant constituent unit of the United Kingdom, occupying more than half of the island of Great Britain. Outside the British Isles, England is often erroneously considered synonymous with the island of Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) and even with the entire United