Popish Plot

All you want to know about Popish Plot

The Popish Plot was an alleged conspiracy which gripped England in anti-Catholic hysteria from 1678 until 1681.[1] In August 1678, Charles II was informed by Christopher Kirkby of a Catholic plot to kill him. Kirkby had found out from Dr Israel Tongue, who, when questioned, said his information came from Titus Oates.[2] Oates would eventually make a host of accusations leading to the execution of at least 15 men. However public opinion eventually began to change and Oates was arrested for sedition, fined £100,000 and thrown into prison.

Contents

Background

There was a growing fear by Protestants of increasing Catholic influence in England. Charles' heir, his brother James Stuart, Duke of York had Converted to Catholicism, and the King's wife, Catherine of Braganza, was also Catholic. Charles' wars and religious policies during the 1670s led to conflict with parliament. In 1672, Charles issued the Royal Declaration of Indulgence, in which he purported to suspend all penal laws against Roman Catholics and other religious dissenters.[3]

Charles II did not want to share power but needed Parliament for money. He believed that an alliance with Catholic France would provide money and aid him in becoming the absolute monarch of England. As the power of the Cabal Ministry waned Thomas Osborne, Lord Danby assumed more influence in his role as Lord High Treasurer. Danby sought to divert the king from a Francophile foreign policy.[4]

In December 1677 an anonymous pamphlet (possibly by Andrew Marvell) spread alarm in London by suggesting Rome planned to change the lawful government of England.[5]

The Plot

The Plot unfolded in a very peculiar fashion. Oates and Tonge had written a large manuscript that accused the Roman Catholic Church of approving an assassination of Charles II. The Jesuits in England were to carry out the task. The Oates and Tonge manuscript also named nearly 100 Jesuits and supporters that were involved in the assassination plot. Nothing in this document was ever proven to be true.

Oates slipped a copy of the manuscript into the wainscot of a gallery in Sir Richard Barker's house.[6] The following day Tonge claimed to find the manuscript, and showed it to an acquaintance, Christopher Kirkby, who was shocked and decided to inform the King. Kirkby was a chemist and a former assistant in Charles's scientific experiments; he bragged about his access to the king. [7] On 13 August 1678, whilst Charles was out walking in St James's Park, the chemist informed him of the plot.[8] Charles was dismissive but Kirkby stated that he knew the names of assassins who planned to shoot the King in the park and, if that failed, the Queen's physician, Sir George Wakeman, would poison him. When the king demanded proof, the chemist offered to bring Tonge who knew of these matters personally. Charles told Kirkby to present Tonge before Lord Danby. Tonge then lied to Danby that he had found the manuscript but did not know the author although it was probably a man he had seen once or twice and whom he had engaged in light conversation.

Danby advised the king to order an investigation. Charles II denied the request maintaining that the entire affair was absurd. He told Danby to keep the events secret so as not to put the idea of regicide into the people's minds.[9] However, word of the manuscript eventually spread to the Duke of York, who publicly called for an investigation into the matter. During the investigation, Oates' name arose.

On 6 September Oates was summoned before the magistrate Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey to swear an oath prior to his testimony before the king. Oates claimed that he had been at a Jesuit meeting held at the White Horse Tavern in the Strand, London on April 24, 1678.[10] According to Oates, the purpose of that meeting was to discuss the assassination of Charles II. The meeting discussed a variety of assassination methods which included: Stabbing by Irish ruffians, shooting by two Jesuit soldiers, or the assassination of Charles II by the Queen's physician, Sir George Wakeman.[11]

When Oates and Tonge were brought before the Privy Council later that month, Charles caught out several of Oates' lies and proceeded to denounce his credibility. [12]

The Tipping Point

The Popish Plot was nearly dismissed as nothing but a conspiracy theory until the murder of Sir Edmund Godfrey. Godfrey was a member of Parliament, and a strong supporter of Protestantism. His disappearance on October 12, 1678, and the finding of his body on October 17 sent the Protestant population into an uproar. His murder was unsolved. Many of his Protestant supporters blamed the murder on the Catholic Church. This sent the Popish Plot from a conspiracy to an absolute truth. Every Protestant in England feared that the Catholic Church was planning a massacre of dissenters. To this day, no one is certain who killed Sir Edmond Godfrey. There is some rumor that Oates and Tonge may have committed the murder to advance their cause, but no evidence to support that rumor exists.

The hysteria of the Plot elevated Oates to a national hero. He was given a residence and an allowance. Oates' testimony led to the conviction and execution of fifteen men. During this time the political Whig party gained popularity. The anti-Catholic sentiment grew to the point of public rallies against Catholicism. There were several occasions that makeshift images of the Pope were burned [13] Eventually the lies of Oates were realized and the hysteria of the Plot diminished. Oates was found to be a liar and was put in prison by James II who took the throne after Charles II. Oates was later released.

Gallery of Playing cards

Informer William Bedloe

Titus Oates uncovers plot

Magistrate Edmund Berry Godfrey with Oates

William Brooks, Alderman of Dublin

Thomas Pickering, Benedictine monk and victim of the Popish Plot

Nathaniel Reading in Pillory

Edward Colman a victim of Oates's plot

The execution of the five Jesuits

External links

References

  • Douglas C. Green (Hg.), Diaries of the Popish Plot, New York 1977
  • John Kenyon, The Popish Plot 2d ed., 1985, repr. Phoenix Press 2001 ISBN 1842121685
  • John Pollock, The Popish Plot: A Study in the History, Kessinger Publishing, 2005, ISBN 1417965762
  1. ^ Heald, Henrietta (1992). Chronicle of Britain. Jacques Legrand, 605. ISBN 0192116959. 
  2. ^ Brown, Molly (1999). The Invitation to a Funeral. Saint Martin's Press Inc.. ISBN 0312970943. 
  3. ^ Fraser, pp.305–308 and Hutton, pp.284–285
  4. ^ Mark Knights, ‘Osborne, Thomas, first duke of Leeds (1632–1712)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004
  5. ^ Heald, Henrietta (1992). Chronicle of Britain. Jacques Legrand, 603. ISBN 0192116959. 
  6. ^ >Pollock, John p. 13
  7. ^ Alan Marshall, ‘Tonge, Israel (1621–1680)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004
  8. ^ Brown, Molly (1999). The Invitation to a Funeral. Saint Martin's Press Inc.. ISBN 0312970943. 
  9. ^ Pollock, John p. 73-74
  10. ^ Williams, Shelia (1958). The Pope-Burning Processions of 1679, 1680 and 1681. "Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes." p. 104-118. Retrieved February 18, 2008, from JSTOR database.
  11. ^ Williams, Shelia p. 104-118
  12. ^ Heald, Henrietta (1992). Chronicle of Britain. Jacques Legrand, 604-5. ISBN 0192116959. 
  13. ^ Williams, Shelia p. 104-118
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