Robert Ferguson
For other uses, see Bob Ferguson Robert Ferguson (c.
1637 -
1714),
Scottish conspirator and pamphleteer, called the "Plotter," was a son of William Ferguson (d. 1699) of Badifurrow,
Aberdeenshire,
Scotland and after receiving a good education, probably at the
University of Aberdeen, became a
Presbyterian (Church of Scotland) minister.
According to Bishop
Burnet he was cast out by the Presbyterians, but whether this be so or not, he soon made his way to
England and became
vicar of
Godmersham,
Kent, from which living he was expelled by the
Act of Uniformity in
1662.
Some years later, having gained meanwhile a reputation as a theological controversialist and become a person of importance among the
Nonconformists, he attracted the notice of the
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury and the party which favoured the exclusion of the
Duke of York from the throne, and he began to write political pamphlets just at the time when the feeling against the
Roman Catholics was at its height. In
1680 he wrote "A Letter to a Person of Honour concerning the 'Black Box,'" in which he supported the claim of the
Duke of Monmouth to the crown against that of the Duke of York. Returning to the subject after
Charles II had solemnly denied the existence of a marriage between himself and
Lucy Waters.
He took an active part in the controversy over the
Exclusion Bill, and claimed to be the author of the whole of the pamphlet "No Protestant Plot" (1681), parts of which are usually ascribed to Shaftesbury. Ferguson was deeply implicated in the
Rye House Plot, although he asserted that he had frustrated both this and a subsequent attempt to assassinate the king, and he fled to the
Netherlands with Shaftesbury in
1682, returning to England early in
1683.
For his share in another plot against Charles II he was declared an
outlaw, after which he entered into communication with
Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll, Monmouth and other malcontents. Ferguson then took a leading part in organizing the
rising of 1685. Having overcome Monmouth's reluctance to take part in this movement, he accompanied the duke to the west of England and drew up the manifesto against James II, escaping to the Netherlands after the
Battle of Sedgemoor. He landed in England with
William III of Orange in
1688, and aided William's cause with his pen, but William and his advisers did not regard him as a person of importance, although his services were rewarded with a sinecure appointment in the
Excise.
Chagrined at this treatment, Ferguson was soon in correspondence with the exiled
Jacobites. He shared in all the plots against the life of William, and after his removal from the Excise in
1692 wrote violent pamphlets against the government. Although he was several times arrested on suspicion, he was never brought to trial. He died in great poverty, leaving behind him a great and deserved reputation for treachery.
It has been thought by
Macaulay and others that Ferguson led the
English government to believe that he was a
spy in their interests, and that his frequent escapes from justice were due to official connivance. In a proclamation issued for his arrest in
1683 he is described as "a tall lean man, dark brown hair, a great Roman nose, thin-jawed, heat in his face, speaks in the
Scottish accent, a sharp piercing eye, stoops a little in the shoulders." Besides numerous pamphlets Ferguson wrote:
History of the Revolution (1706);
Qualifications requisite in a Minister of State (1710); and part of the
History of all the Mobs, Tumults and Insurrections in Great Britain (London, 1715).
*
*James Ferguson:
Robert Ferguson, the Plotter. Edinburgh, 1887 (which gives a favourable account of Ferguson).
