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→Early History
Walsingham realized that to defeat future plots tactics would have to include having a vast network of spies across England (and later Scotland after the accession of James I). Spies had to be able to decipher coded letters, find hidden ink in letter, search hiding spaces in homes, and infiltrate Catholic groups to know what they were up to. In effect, this created not only among the earliest espionage networks but also the first surveillance state that monitored it's people at a vast scale. It also recruited many normal people to carry out mundane, everyday espionage in many different towns and municipalities across England.<ref>For more on Walsingham's surveillance network and the skills involved for these early spies, see: Haynes, A. (2007) <i>Walsingham: Elizabethan spymaster & statesman</i>. Stroud, Gloucestershire, Sutton. </ref>
[[File:Maria Stuart Execution.jpg|thumbnail|Mary Queen of Scots execution reflected the final outcome of a major plot against Elizabeth I. This plot led to the creation of the first organized espionage network in England.]]
==Later Development==