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Lesser Known But Intriguing Historic Criminals

Khalid Elhassan October 17, 2019 32 min

U.S. Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History - Crime

24. From Fighting For the Monarchy, to Becoming an Avowed Anti-Monarch

Thomas Blood prospered after the monarchy was overthrown, but unfortunately for him, the monarchy was restored in 1660, and the beheaded Charles I’s son was crowned as king Charles II. Blood lost all his lands, and fearing reprisals, he fled to Ireland with his family. Understandably unhappy with this reversal of fortunes, Blood became an avowed enemy of the monarchy.

He plotted to kidnap the royal governor of Ireland and hold him for ransom, but the plot failed. Blood’s brother, a co-conspirator, was captured and executed for treason, while Blood fled to Holland with a price on his head. He returned in 1670 and hatched another plot to kidnap the governor of Ireland. It failed. At that point, desperately short of funds, Blood decided to go for a daring score: steal the Crown Jewels of England, which were kept in a basement in the Tower of London, beneath the floor of the Keeper of the Jewels’ apartment.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.