I don’t know if Rod Blagojevich would appreciate the near-coincidence, but it turns out he was thrown out of office a mere one day short of the 360th anniversary of the execution of Charles I. Damn. So close.
Nevertheless, I’m reminded of David Hume’s bathetic love letter to the headless king. Perhaps his words can provide Blago and his many adherents with the solace they need in these difficult days.
A History of England from the Earliest Times to the Revolution in 1688 Abridged, Incorporating the Corrections and Researches of Recent Historians, and Continued Down to the Year 1858 By David Hume
(via Ralph Luker)

5 comments
January 31, 2009 at 7:18 pm
ekogan
History repeating himself must be a big boon to historians.
Really cuts down on one’s study time.
And Charles I did not have even a fraction of the majesty of the Blagojevich. Did Charles quote Lord Tennyson at his trial? Never even crossed his mind. I rest my case.
January 31, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Matthew Ernest
However, Charles I did have better hair.
February 1, 2009 at 6:01 am
CharleyCarp
Say, while we’re all thinking about the Stuarts, does anyone know whether the book (and movie) Captain Blood was based on a true story? Specifically, a doctor unjustly convicted for providing medical help to accused traitors?
(I’m not concerned about the provenance of the parts of the story having to do withh the Olivia de Haviland character, however).
I’ll poke around on the internet, but if one of you knows the answer, sing out. Or drop me a line.
February 1, 2009 at 7:56 am
rea
does anyone know whether the book (and movie) Captain Blood was based on a true story? Specifically, a doctor unjustly convicted for providing medical help to accused traitors?
Whether there was a case specifically involving a doctor I do not know, but consider, for example, the case of Dame Alice Lyle, executed for sheltering two fugitives, depsite evidence that she did not know of their involvement in Monmouth’s Rebellion:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Lisle
Hundreds of persons involved in the rebellion were, in fact, sold into slavery in the West Indies.
February 1, 2009 at 10:36 am
Jay C
Specifically, a doctor unjustly convicted for providing medical help to accused traitors?
Not in 17th-Century England, but a a little closer to home . Although the “unjustly” part is a matter of interpretation.