Corruption and Conspiracy
A New Book Exploring the Life and Times of an Early Modern Corruption Hunter
The Invisible Handshake: Discovering Corruption in the Early Modern State begins in Elizabethan England in the later sixteenth century. Riven by religious division and undergoing profound economic change, entrepreneurial figures seek to remake the landscape and reform the commonwealth. The book follows the career of one of them, Sir Stephen Proctor (1562–1619), a zealous Protestant who was keen to rise in his station. Backed by others, Proctor purchased the lands of Fountains Abbey and built an imposing hall there using stone from the ruins (pictured above). He sought to maximize the returns from his lands and expand mining in the region. But it was his interference and determination to quash Catholic "corruption" in the region that particularly angered his neighbours. Many were faithful to the "old religion" and hide priests to minister services in secret chapels. Proctor was quick to investigate them and arrest priests whose presence was illegal.
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At the same time, Proctor also worked his connections at court to obtain royal patents to investigate official corruption throughout England. Believing that his neighbours were also involved in the Gunpowder Plot, Proctor gathered evidence to bring them before Star Chamber and see them hanged. By the time of the 1610 parliament Proctor was ready to unmask new conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot and expose numerous instances of official corruption throughout England. But his enemies were waiting.
Through a compelling exploration of corruption, conspiracy, ambition, and violence, the book illuminates these conflicts. It highlights the enduring tensions between governance and corruption, and the many moral meanings of corruption during the period.
Early Moderns Had Sophisticated Ideas of Corruption
Early modern people wrote a lot about corruption. But they meant something more broad than the violation of a public trust by an official. They thought of corruption first in moral and physical terms: the corruption of the body or the corruption of original sin.
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Have a look at Samuel Johnson's definition of corruption from his Dictionary (1755).
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They applied to these ideas to their discussions of politics. The political body might be corrupted by the self-seeking behaviours of officials. The integrity of institutions was always subject to decay or corruption.
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When people acted "corruptly" they did more than just prefer their own private gain over the public interest. They were part of a larger process of harm to the commonwealth.
The Force of Corruption
We imagine "worlds of corruption" in which shadowy forces conspire
We also understand the moral force of corruption. We imagine "worlds of corruption" in which shadowy forces conspire to enrich themselves at the public expense under the guise of legal authority.
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Yet most anticorruption literature focuses on narrow technical and institutional definitions of corruption. A deeper historical understanding of corruption can strengthen modern anticorruption efforts and explain corruption's continuing force in shaping political events and language.