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The 'Spanish Prisoner' is commonly held to be the oldest known long con (refers to a more complex, planned, confidence trick whereby the 'mark' [victim] is sent to get more money or is used to get more money than he simply posesses on his person). The confidence trick originated in England in the late 16th century (a date of 1588 has been named as the time of the con's first mention). It is a simple confidence trick, but can be extremely lucrative if played well.
You have to remember that this was during the reign of Elizabeth I and England was under constant threat of invasion by Spain and extreme distrust existed between the two countries. Knowing this background you can now understand how the con works.
In the original con a wealthy mark is spotted by the conman who then approaches the mark with a convincing story about a wealthy compatriot of his who has been imprisoned in Spain by King Philip II under a false identity.
The grifter tells the mark that this prisoner cannot reveal his identity without serious repercussions and is relying on the conman to raise sufficient money to secure his release (as was the common proactice). The conman, according to his story, has been mandated to obtain the money any way he can. Whether it be by bribery, ransom or rescue attempt. The con artist offers the mark an opportunity to supply some of the money, with a promise that he will be rewarded handsomely for his efforts when the prisoner returns. The promise is for feduciary recompense, though often the promise of marriage to the prisoner's beautiful daughter is used as further incentive.
Once the mark has stumped-up the requisite sum the grifter disappears, ostensibly to finalize the prisoner's liberaton. However, the con has only just begun. After a little while the conman reports difficulties in securing the prisoner's release to his mark. Of course, additional funds are now required and then more and then more. Eventually the mark is cleaned out and the grifter vanishes.
One of the key features of the Spanish Prisoner scam is its emphasis on secrecy, after all the mark will gain nothing if the prisoner's identity is revealed. The con artist will also often tell the mark that he was chosen carefully based on his reputation for honesty and straight dealing, and may appear to structure the deal so that the confidence artist's ultimate share of the reward will be distributed voluntarily by the mark.
An interesting variant on the Spanish Prisoner scam is one in which the prisoner is purportedly a dethroned princess. Here the mark is told that the princess will gladly marry him if only he fronts the money for her release. Time passes, and just as the mark begins to suspect a swindle, the grifter will re-contact him with a letter from Her Majesty. The letter reports that the princess has been released and is now in France. But she needs a few hundred more gold pieces to secure her final passage by sea. On hearing this the mark is delighted and gladly forks-out the addditional money. But the con isn't over yet.
Next, the princess might write to say that she needs more money to free her parents, the ex monarchs. Next she will report that a Spanish spy has discovered her escape and she needs to pay him off.
Each time the mark is told a new story and he keeps on paying as long as the grifter can keep him fooled. He may be shown a cameo of his beloved or more extras may be brought in to act-out additional roles (each, of course, earning a part of the take). Finally, once he's cleaned out, the mark is brushed off.
One stylish way for this to happen is for the princess to arrive, at last, on the mark's doorstep. The grifter is there too, but then the Spanish spy shows up and 'murders' the grifter. This requires a con within a con known as a Cackle-Bladder (a faked murder; where the term derives from the pouch filled with chicken's blood used to fake a gunshot or stab wound). The mark is terrified, and the princess runs to his side, kisses him tenderly, and tells him that she must go into exile or she endangers his life as well as her own. And so, the mark never sees the princess again, and the grifter, princess, and Spanish spy all split the take.
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