MIchael de Molina, Born of Honest Parents at Cuenca, a City in the Kingdom of Castils, bred there in the Jesuits Colledge, and after at the University of Alcala de Henares; to try his fortune, went thence to Court, where to gain a living speedily, he Undertook to give Secret Intelligence to the Secretaries of the several Ambassadours then residing at that Court; and to give the more Credit to his Reports, gave out, That he was Servant to Andrew de Rojas, Cavalier of the Order of Sant Iago, and Se­cretary of the Councell of State: Insomuch that he Forged Letters, Feigned Discourses, Framed Intelligences, fitted for the Purposes and Affairs of the Ambassadours wherewith he dealt, Counterfeited the Kings Hand, Invented Cyphers, made Consultations and Orders to the Number of 345 several Papers, and all with that dexterity, that he Deceived and Abused not only the Secretaries of the Emperour, the Venetian, and French Embassadours, but also and most of all, Don Lorenzo Coqui, Secretary to the late Don Lorenzo Campegi, Nuntio to the Pope; in whose House he was at length Apprehended; upon whose Apprehension and Search of Papers, he told the Officers, That if the Tenor of those Papers should be looked upon as Jests and Con­ceits, he should not speed so Ill; but if as a Crime it would appear so great, that one life would not be enough to pay for the same. And his Majesty taking notice that the business was of that Importance, that the like had not been heard or found in any History, Cammanded that there should be on purpose a Court of Justice composed of Two of the Chief Nobility, and Two of the Chief Judges, before whom when the said Michael de Molina was sufficiently convinced, and had made a large Confession (which for its matchless strangeness shall be Verbatim set down) he was sentenced as followeth;

[Page 2] IN the Town of Madrid, July 31. 1641. the Lords of his Majesties Counsell, who by Particular Order have taken cognizance of the Accusation given in by Don Marcellino Faria de Guzman Attorney, Nominated by his Majesty, for this Cause against Michael de Molina late of Cuenca, Prisoner in the Gaol of this Court for Offences and High-Treason, Committed by him, whereof he hath been Accused, do Condemn the said Michael Molina to be Hanged on a Gallows, and his Goods to be Confiscated to the Kings use, the Execution whereof they leave to the Lord Judge, D. John de Quinnones; and this is their Will and Pleasure.

This Sentence was made known to the Prisoner upon the First of August, and Execution done accordingly in the Placa Major of Mad [...]id, the Third day following; at which time and place the Proclama­tion usually made at the Execution was thus;

THis is the Justice which the King our Sovereign Lord Com­mandeth to be done upon this man, for having Committed HIGH-TREASON, and Published FALSITIES, FORGERIES, and HORRIBLE CHEATS on the Affairs and Grave Ministers of State; for which he Commands that he be Hanged by the Neck till he Die, to the end that it may be to him for a Punishment, and to others an Example; then Concludes, Quien tal haze tal pague, He that thus doeth, let him thus pay for the same. As he stood upon the Ladder ready to be turned off, he delivered in Writing to father Andrew Emanuel of the Society of Jesus, a Declaration, the Contents whereof ensueth Word for Word.

LOyal Subjects of our Sovereign Lord the King, I am Michael de Molina, Born at Cuenca, the Grievousness of my Crimes is so great, that a Punishment can hardly be invented to Equalize mine Offences against God, against our Sovereign Lord the King, whom God Preserve, against the Emperour, against my Native Country; against the Lord Duke de Oliverez, and Sant Lucar, against the most Grave, Faithfull and Loyal Ministers of State, whom I have Discre­dited with my Forgeries and Lies. The Clemency of the King our Sovereign (whom God preserve) hath been very Eminent in Sen­tencing me so Mercifully: God grant, to whom I now go to render a Strict Account, that there be found Mercy for me in Life to come, and that I then pay not for the clemency shewed me here. I do here [Page 3]declare and confess upon mine own free will, that not having the fear of God nor Man before mine eyes, I have been the cause of the greatest part of the mischiefs that this Monarchy suffereth, and of those calamities and miseries which you faithfull people yet suffer, for which I humbly beg pardon of all those that are Absent, as well as of you here Present. For I am the man that Feigned that the King our Sovereign Lord (whom God preserve) and the Emperour, Instigated thereunto by the Lord Duke of Saint Lucar, and Fomented by him, did Plot the Death of our Most Holy Father Ʋrban the 8th Pope, Head of the Church, and Vicar of Christ, for which purpose I Invented and Con­trived Orders of the King our Sovereign, and of the Emperour, LETTERS from the Duke, ORDERS, INSTRƲCTIONS, and IƲDGMENTS of the Counsellors of State, with Letters from Vice-Roys and Embassadours, with purpose to abuse and deceive the Nuntio and the Embassadours of several Princes, and thereby to get Money from them, not caring for the dammage might arise and accrue from thence to the World, and to this Monarchy; and not contented here­with, I Invented that in case the said Death could not be Effected, that then Endeavour should be to call a Councell, and to Depose the Pope, or make a Schism in the Church. I Invented and Forged, that the Lord Duke did by Order from the King, the Emperour and the Counsell of State, Endeavour to Kid the Cardinal Rich [...]lieu, Favorit to the most Christian King of France; for which purpose, and for the Death of the Pope, I Feigned Persons that were to have been In­struments of the same; I gave notice to the Ambassadours hereof, shewing them Letters and Orders, which I feigned as I judged meet. I made them believe that I was an Officer of the Counsell of State, & that by that means I came to the knowledge of these Plots & Conspi­caties, whereby I have disturbed the World, Caused Ielousies, and Suspi­cions amongst all the Princes of Europe, and the Mischiefs that this Mo­narchy now Suffereth. I also advertised the Embassadours, & the Ene­mies of this State, of LETTERS, CONSƲLTS, Orders and Decrees, made by the King and Counsel, for driving the French out of Piemont, the Correspondencies of the Cardinal of Savoy with the Subjects of that State, for the Effectuating the same; the coming of Prince Thomas from Flanders to Savoy for the same purpose, and to lay Siege to Casal; of an Army to be raised, and Maintained in Alsatia; of an intention to Kill Duke Bernard de Weimar General of the Swedes, the intentions of the King our Sovereign, with the States of Venice and Genoa con­cerning Piemont and Caesal; the purpose of supplies which both States of Venice and Gonoa would send to France and Holland; and the inten­tions [Page 4]of the Pope to Assist France against Spain; the intent of Eng­land to league with Spain; the purpose that the French and Hollanders had to joyn their Fleets to hinder all succours of Flanders, and to surprise the Plate-fleet, and infest the Coasts of Spain; the Design that the Hollander had upon Antwerp in the Year 16 [...]8. The Success of Fontarabie; whereupon I feigned Letters from the Prince of Conde, and from the Duchess de Chevereuse; also concerning the Imprison­ment of Don Gualterio Peni Secretary and Resident for France in this Court, with whom I had intimate friendship, which was the ground of all these Disasters: of the Secret Compliance between the Cardi­nall Infante, and the Prince of Orenge: of the Conspiracy by the Prince of Orenge to kill the Cardinal Richelieu; the Design of Holland, that the States of Flanders should be independent of Spain, and our King should renounce his Right to the Cardinal Infanta, to the end the Hol­landers should receive him, and subject themselves to him: of the Capitulations and Agreement betwixt the King our Sovereign and the Duke of Modena, whereby I feigned that the said Duke was to assist with Six Thousand men, at his own charge, against France; and that the King was to give him the charge of Vice-Roy of Catalonia, and Twenty Thousand Souldiers to enter into France by Catalonia, which was the first ground of the War at Salsas and Perpignian the Key of Catalonia; of the General Resolutions of the Year 1639. in order to the Affairs of Germany, Flanders, and Italy: of the purpose to take away the Nuntio's Court in these Kingdoms for the disorders and Excesses of the same: of the great Resentments of the King our Sovereign against the King of France, for his Leagueing with the Swedes, his Confederation with the Turks and Protestant Princes of Germany, for his Protection and League with Holland; for his Com­merce with Venice and Genoa to the great discommodity of Spain; for the disunion which he endeavoured to make between Spain and Eng­land: of the Resentment that the King our Sovereign had against the Pope, for his Amity and Assisting of France; and not his endeavour­ing rather as a Father of the whole Church to pacify the Warrs by all means possible; of the Design of changing the Commanders in Chief of all the Emperours Armies and the Spanish, there by to make the People desperate, hecause of the failing of faith and credit; of the Recruiting and Arming the Gallies of Spain, Cicily and Naples for the maintaining commerce, secret intelligence in Toulon and Mar­seilles; of the capitulation of the Venetian with the Grand Turk: and the means whereby they drew the Turk to Assent to their Demands, and the little security the Turk had from them: All which I IN­VENTED, [Page 5]FEIGNED and CONTRIVED; together with many more LETTERS, CYPHERS, Papers, &c. without any intelligence, Correspondence, or Amity with any Officer or Minister of State of this Kingdom, but that I alone without the help or assistance of any o­ther have Feigned and Invented all the for said Designs, where of I gave Information to the Nuntio and his Secretary, to the said Am­bassadours, and to Monsieur de Peny with whom I have kept cor­respondence in France since the breaking forth of the Warr: the which as a Truth I Swear before God, and declare it for discharging my Conscience; I ask of God forgiveness, also of the King our [...]o­vereign (whom God preserve) of the Emperour, of the Lord Duke, against whom I directed most of those forgeries, of the Duke of Me­ [...]ina las Torres, of the Marques of Leganés, of the Duke of Villaher­nosa, of the Count of Oniate, of the Marques of Villa Franca, of the Marques of Mirabel, of the most Illustrious Lord Inquisitor Generall, the Father Confessour of the most Eminent Cardinals, the Cardinal Borgia, and Cardinal Spinola, and Cardinal of Sandoval, of the Lord Don Geronimo of Villanueva,, Pronetary of Arragon, and Secretary of State, of Don Andrew de Rojas Secretary of State, of the Ambassadour of Genoa, and of all the rest whom I have Falsly Defamed by These FORGERIES and IMPOSTƲRES; and also I ask Pardon of all the faithfull and Loyal Subjects of these Kingdoms, Charging them to take Example by me. And to the end that it may be manifested to all times, I thus make Declaration, that God may Pardon me, and for the Satisfaction of this, and all other Nations which I have disturbed with the wickedness of my Inventions. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my Name, Dated in the Placa Mayor, and Place of Exe­cution in Madrid, the 3 of August, 1641. Thus Ended Michael de Molinae, in whom the Refran or Spanish Proverb was Verified; Quien [...]n un ano quiere ser rico al medio le ahorcan, He that will be rich in one year, shall be hanged at half years End.