The right to trade in slaves with the American Colonies was claimed by Spain, and was at different periods granted by treaty to France or to England. The permission thus granted was known as the Asiento.
Assassination Plot.
A Jacobite plot in 1696, to assassinate William III. He was to be shot while returning from hunting in Richmond Forest. It is probable that James was privy to it, but the actual ringleader was Sir George Barclay. The plot was discovered, and several of the leaders convicted and executed.
Assassins.
The followers of the Old Man of the Mountain, Hassan ben Sabah, who founded the sect on the borders of the Caspian Sea about 1090. The motto of the Society was “To the faithful nothing is forbidden,” and its adherents were guilty of the foulest murders. Among its other well-known victims was Conrad of Montferrat, in 1192.
Assertion of the Seven Sacraments.
The book written by Henry VIII against Luther, which procured for him from Leo X the title of Defender of the Faith.
Assignats.
An issue of paper money authorized by the French National Assembly in December, 1789, secured on the lands and buildings of the church, which were to be confiscated and sold. They were largely forged by Royalists and others, and went to an extraordinary discount; thus in February, 1796, a gold louis of 20 francs was worth on the Paris Bourse 5,300 francs in assignats.