Celebrated Claimants from Perkin Warbeck to Arthur Orton — John Shaqi
Celebrated Claimants from Perkin Warbeck to Arthur OrtonAnonymous
History
Celebrated Claimants from Perkin Warbeck to Arthur Orton
Anonymous
Impostors and imposture -- Biography
but at last he was taken and brought to Lisbon. Here, after being
exposed to public infamy, he was hanged amid the jeers of the
populace.
Nine years later, in 1594, another impostor appeared, this time in
Spain, under the very eyes of King Philip, who had seized the
Portuguese sovereignty. Again an ecclesiastic figured in the plot; but
on this occasion he concealed himself behind the scenes, and pulled
the strings which set the puppet-king in motion. Miguel dos Santos, an
Augustinian monk, who had been chaplain to Sebastian, after his
disappearance espoused the cause of Don Antonio, and conceived the
scheme of placing his new patron on the Lusitanian throne, by exciting
a revolution in favour of a stranger adventurer, who would run all the
risks of the rebellion, and resign his ill-gotten honours when the
real aspirant appeared. He found a suitable tool in Gabriel de
Spinosa, a native of Toledo. This man resembled Sebastian, was
naturally bold and unscrupulous, and was easily persuaded to undertake
the task of personating the missing monarch. The monk, Dos Santos, who
was confessor to the nunnery of Madrigal, introduced this person to
one of the nuns, Donna Anna of Austria, a niece of King Philip, and
informed her that he was the unfortunate King of Portugal. The lady,
believing her father-confessor, loaded the pretender with valuable
gifts; presented him with her jewels; and was so attracted by his
appearance that it was said she was willing to break her vows for his
sake, and to share his throne with him. Unfortunately for the
conspirators, before the plot was ripe, Spinosa's indiscretion ruined
it. Having repaired to Valladolid to sell some jewels, he formed a
criminal acquaintance with a female of doubtful repute, who informed
the authorities that he was possessed of a great number of gems which
she believed to be stolen. He was arrested, and on his correspondence
being searched, the whole scheme was discovered. The rack elicited a
full confession, and Spinosa was hung and quartered. Miguel dos Santos
shared the same fate; but the Donna Anna, in consideration of her
birth, was spared and condemned to perpetual seclusion.
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