The Politics of Intelligence Gathering: Sir Edward Stafford's Embassy in France (1583-1590)

In the 1580s, the Elizabethan intelligence system, which had been taken over by the Principal Secretary Sir Francis Walsingham from Lord Burghley (William Cecil), is believed to have reached a high degree of efficiency. English spying on the Catholic plotters exiled in Paris can be seen as a representative of its covert operation overseas. This article will move the focus of the research on Elizabethan intelligence gathering away from the traditional concern for national defence, towards a new location within the factional politics of the Elizabethan regime. By this new approach, the embassy service of Sir Edward Stafford in Paris from 1583 to 1590 will be reconsidered. Stafford, with a vivid pro-Cecil factiousness, devoted himself to the special mission for Burghley and Queen Elizabeth, in intelligence work, lobbying Catholics, and secret diplomacy with Spain. Through the model of Stafford, this research will give a new eye of the acute competitions to provide news in the Elizabethan regime, as well as of the role of the female Privy Chamber.