ABSTRACT
The seventh chapter examines the shifting dynamics of the English intelligence network in the aftermath of the death of Francis Walsingham, its principal spymaster. The court rivalry between Robert Cecil, the son of William Cecil, and Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, penetrated the workings of English spycraft, with the Cecils on one side and Devereux and Anthony and Francis Bacon on the other. Intelligence work thus became a battleground between rival agents working for each faction, resulting in questionable executions—such as that of Roderigo Lopez, Elizabeth's physician—corrupt information, false arrests, and violence. Chapter seven focuses, as well, on the differing methodological approaches taken by the Cecils and the Essex faction, demonstrating the ultimate success of the Cecils’ emphasis on intelligence as key to national security, rather than as a means for political promotion.
