References
William Lamport was born in Wexford town in 1611 to parents Richard and Anastasia. He would go on to become an inspiration for the Mexican Independence movement of the 19th century. He was educated in Wexford and Dublin and in 1627 Lamport claims to have been arrested in for London for distributing Catholic pamphlets. He fell in with a gang of pirates and jumped ship in 1630 to resume his studies in La Coruña, Spain, at St. Patrick’s College and his name was Hispanicised to Guillén Lombardo. He could speak no less than 14 languages.
He came to the attention of the Duke of Olivares , chief minister of Philip IV, who eventually helped him to enter the service of the King. He was arrested in 1642 for plotting a rebellion among the native people, the aim of which was to abolish slavery and establish an independent Mexican state, and was sentenced to be burnt at the stake after being tried by the Spanish Inquisition. He escaped from prison in 1650 and before he was rearrested he had posted pamphlets throughout the city exposing the corruption of the Inquisition. He spent the best part of the next nine years in solitary confinement, writing over 917 beautiful psalms in Latin.
Lamport hanged himself in 1659 before he was due to be executed. A statue of Lamport is inside the Angel of Independence - a major historical monument in Mexico City. He inspired the character of Zorro in a bestselling 1919 novel, which was later adapted for a movie with Douglas Fairbanks.
Picture: Putnam Foundation, Timken Museum of Art, San Diego by Peter Paul Rubens.
Sources: Historyireland.com, The Irish Times, Familylambert.net, Wikipedia
| Additional Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 1st Jan 1611 | |
| Date of Death | 1st Jan 1659 | |
| Father (First Name/s and Surname) | Richard Lamport | |
| Mother (First Name/s and Maiden) | Anastasia Sutton | |
