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Primary sourceDocument23 September 1715

Royal Proclamation for the Arrest of Sir William Wyndham

23 September 1715

A printed proclamation issued in George I's name in 1715 ordering the arrest of a Tory leader suspected of plotting with the Jacobite rebellion.

Issued in George I's name, this proclamation shows him acting against a Jacobite-linked Tory during the 1715 rising that threatened his throne.

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Photograph of a printed 1715 royal proclamation titled 'By the King, A Proclamation, For Apprehending Sir William Wyndham Baronet', with a crest at top, a vignette with a 'W' emblem, dense black-letter text, and London printer's imprint at bottom. Paper is aged and creased.
Royal Proclamation for the Arrest of Sir William Wyndham, 23 September 1715.

About this source

What it is

This is a printed royal proclamation dated 23 September 1715, issued under King George I's authority, demanding the capture of Sir William Wyndham, a Tory politician who had served under Queen Anne. Wyndham had been arrested on suspicion of high treason, escaped custody, and was being sought as a fugitive.

Why it matters

Wyndham was a leading Tory opponent of the Hanoverian succession, accused of conspiring to support the Jacobite rising of 1715 and a possible invasion. The proclamation shows how George I's government used the law and the printing press to hunt down political enemies during a moment when his hold on the throne was seriously threatened.

Look closer

  • What does the formal, legal language of the proclamation tell you about how the government wanted to be seen acting?
  • Why would printing and distributing this notice publicly matter to the government's case against Wyndham?
  • What does the proclamation not tell you about Wyndham's own reasons or beliefs?

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