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Conspiracy (political)
 
 
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In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état
Coup d'état

A coup d??tat , often simply called a coup, is the sudden unconstitutional overthrow of a government by a part of the state establishment – usually the military – to replace the branch of the stricken government, either with another civil government or with a military government....
 or through assassination
Assassination

Assassination is the targeted killing of a public figure. Assassinations may be prompted by ideology, politics, or military reasons. Additionally, assassins may be motivated by contract killing, revenge, or celebrity or may be mental disorder....
.

A conspiracy is to be contrasted with a cabal
Cabal

A cabal is a number of people united in some close design, usually to promote their private views and interests in a Church body, state, or other community, often by Wiktionary:intrigue....
. The two are similar but have quite different connotations; in contrast to a cabal, a conspiracy usually looks to overthrow a fixed power instead of usurping it from within.








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In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état
Coup d'état

A coup d??tat , often simply called a coup, is the sudden unconstitutional overthrow of a government by a part of the state establishment – usually the military – to replace the branch of the stricken government, either with another civil government or with a military government....
 or through assassination
Assassination

Assassination is the targeted killing of a public figure. Assassinations may be prompted by ideology, politics, or military reasons. Additionally, assassins may be motivated by contract killing, revenge, or celebrity or may be mental disorder....
.

A conspiracy is to be contrasted with a cabal
Cabal

A cabal is a number of people united in some close design, usually to promote their private views and interests in a Church body, state, or other community, often by Wiktionary:intrigue....
. The two are similar but have quite different connotations; in contrast to a cabal, a conspiracy usually looks to overthrow a fixed power instead of usurping it from within.

Famous political conspiracies

Perhaps the most famous political conspiracy was that of Gaius Trebonius, Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus
Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus

Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus was a Ancient Rome politician and general of the 1st century BC and one of Julius Caesar's assassins....
, Marcus Junius Brutus
Marcus Junius Brutus

File:Portrait Brutus Massimo.jpgMarcus Junius Brutus or Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman Senate of the late Roman Republic....
, and Gaius Cassius Longinus
Gaius Cassius Longinus

For other individuals with a similar name, see Cassius Longinus.Gaius Cassius Longinus was a Roman Republic Roman Senate, the prime mover in the conspiracy against Julius Caesar, and the brother in-law of Marcus Junius Brutus....
 who successfully conspired to assassinate Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar

'Gaius Julius Caesar' , July 13, 100 BC ? March 15, 44 BC,) was a Roman Republic military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
 on the Ides of March, 44 BC.

The Catiline conspiracy, thwarted by Cicero
Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Ancient Rome philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Constitution of the Roman Republic. Cicero is widely considered one of Rome's greatest rhetoric and prose stylists....
 as consul
Consul

Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Roman Empire. The title was also used in other city states, and revived in modern states, notably French Republic before the Napoleon I of Franceic counter-revolution....
.

Two other famous conspiracies were the murders of David Rizzio
David Rizzio

David Rizzio, sometimes written as David Riccio or David Rizzo was an Italy courtier, born in Turin, the son of a music teacher, who rose to become the private secretary of Mary, Queen of Scots....
 and Lord Darnley, (Henry Stuart, 1st Duke of Albany
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley

Henry Stuart, 1st Duke of Albany , commonly known as Lord Darnley, was a King Consort of Scotland, the first cousin and second husband of Mary I of Scotland, and the father of her son James I of England, who also succeeded Elizabeth I of England as King James I of England....
), respectively Mary, Queen of Scots private secretary and her husband.

It is also generally considered that the infamous "gunpowder treason" attempted by Guy Fawkes
Guy Fawkes

Guy Fawkes or Guido Fawkes was a member of a group of Roman Catholic restorationists from England that planned the Gunpowder Plot. The plot's aim was to displace Protestant rule by blowing up the Houses of Parliament while King James I of England and the entire Protestant and even most of the Catholic aristocracy and nobility were i...
 was a conspiracy, although a thwarted one.

See also

  • Secrecy
    Secrecy

    Secrecy or furtiveness is the practice of sharing information among a group of people, which can be as small as one person, while hiding it from all others....
  • Conspiracy
  • Conspiracy theory
    Conspiracy theory

    A conspiracy theory alleges a coordinated group is, or was, secretly working to commit illegal or wrongful actions, including attempting to hide the existence of the group and its activities....