Following the failure of the Rye House Plot to assassinate Charles II and James in 1683, plans for several different actions to overthrow the monarch were discussed while Monmouth was in self-imposed exile in the Dutch Republic. Archibald Campbell, the Earl of Argyll, landed with a small force in Scotland. Because Monmouth had previously been popular in the South West of England he planned to recruit troops locally and take control of the area before marching on London.