A single assassin could have toppled Elizabeth’s entire government

Evidence

One desperate man, tempted by the enormous stakes, could change the history of England. — Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 54

Categorization

• FICTION: Direct story fuel: the fragility of the whole regime behind one unguarded woman makes an excellent narrative hinge — the knife-or-pistol moment the era teetered on.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 54
• XREF: connects to: Sixtus admired Elizabeth yet worked for her overthrow — Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 126; Rome promised plenary absolution to anyone who murdered Elizabeth — Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 55; The Bond of Association committed English nobles to extrajudicial extermination of Elizabeth’s enemies — Garrett Mattingly, The Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 55