“Loyal Hind”, “The Prince of Thieves”: Crime Pamphlets and Royalist Propaganda in the 1650s

This chapter analyses the mentions of James Hind in newsbooks of the period, in order to show that Hind's fame at the time of his arrest was so widespread as to provide an extraordinary opportunity to transform him into a symbol of the power either of the state or the Royalist cause. By looking at all publications relating to Hind, the author additionally shows that the state's apparent unwillingness to exploit Hind's arrest, removing him from London and not using his capture and execution as an instrument of its propaganda, left Hind's case open to appropriation by anti-Commonwealth publishers, especially George Horton, whose advertisement of Hind's Royalist feelings was crucial. By comparing Horton's pamphlets with the other accounts of Hind and his infamous activities, the author illustrates that other pamphleteers avoided explicit mentions of Hind's Royalism whereas Horton actively promoted this aspect of Hind's persona and politics.