Two Perspectives on the Execution of Sir Thomas Armstrong (1684): Tory Triumphalism and Dutch Distaste, James Drabble

This essay analyses two accounts of the execution of Sir Thomas Armstrong, which took place at Tyburn on 20 June 1684: the broadside ballad, The Traytors Last Farewel, published within days of his death, and the etching, Thomas Armstrong, Binnen Londen, gehangen en gevierendeelt, created by Jan Luyken in 1698. The study finds two different interpretations of the execution: the ballad reflecting Tory triumphalism at its height, four years before its deflation with the Glorious Revolution of 1688, and the etching displaying Dutch distaste for the betrayal of their cherished right of refuge.