A unique and spectacular case prosecuted by the Inquisition was of Irishman William Lamport, who had transformed himself into Don Guillén de Lombardo, bastard half-brother of King Philip IV, and attempted to foment rebellion among dissident elements in Mexico City and have himself named as king. This would-be king was denounced to the Inquisition in 1642 and was executed at the auto de fe of 1659. He is considered by some as a precursor of Mexican Independence, and there is a statue of him inside the base of the Monument to Independence in Mexico City.Sarah Cline, "William Lamport/Guillén de Lombardo, 1611-1659: Mexico's Irish Would-be King," in The Human Tradition in the Atlantic World, 1500-1850, edited by Karen Racine & Beatriz G. Mamigonian. Lanham MD: Rowman and Littlefield 2010, pp. 43-56.
