Popish Plot - Plot

Plot

The fictitious Popish Plot unfolded in a very peculiar fashion. Oates and Israel Tonge had written a large manuscript that accused the Catholic Church authorities of approving the assassination of Charles II. The Jesuits in England were to carry out the task. The manuscript also named nearly 100 Jesuits and supporters, supposedly involved in this assassination plot; nothing in the 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. 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' scientific experiments. On 13 August 1678, whilst Charles was out walking in St. James's Park, the chemist informed him of the plot. Charles was dismissive but Kirkby stated that he knew the names of assassins who planned to shoot the King 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 Danby. Tonge then lied to Danby, saying that he had found the manuscript but did not know the author.

As Kenyon points out, the Government took seriously the slightest threat to the King's well-being- the previous summer a Newcastle housewife had been investigated simply for criticising the King's debauched private life. 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 people's minds. However, word of the manuscript spread to the Duke of York, who publicly called for an investigation into the matter. Even Charles admitted that given the sheer number of allegations, he could not be certain that none of them was true, and reluctantly agreed. 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 he had been at a Jesuit meeting held at the White Horse Tavern in the Strand, London on April 24, 1678. According to Oates, the purpose of that meeting was to discuss the assassination of Charles II. The meeting discussed a variety of methods which included: stabbing by Irish ruffians, shooting by two Jesuit soldiers, or poisoning by the Queen's physician, Sir George Wakeman.

Oates and Tonge were brought before the Privy Council later that month. The council interrogated Oates. On 28 September he made 43 allegations against various members of Catholic religious orders—including 541 Jesuits—and numerous Catholic nobles. He accused Sir George Wakeman, the Queen's physician, and Edward Colman, the secretary to Mary of Modena Duchess of York, of planning the assassination. Although Oates may have selected the names randomly, or with the help of the Earl of Danby, Coleman was found to have corresponded with a French Jesuit, which condemned him. Wakeman was later acquitted. Despite Oates' bad reputation, the Councillors were impressed by his confidence, his grasp of detail and his remarkable memory. A turning point came when he was shown five letters, supposedly written by leading priests and giving details of the Plot, which he was suspected of forging: Oates " at a single glance" named each of the alleged authors. At this the Council were "amazed" and began to give much greater credence to the Plot; strangely it did not occur to them that Oates' ability to recognise the letters made it more likely that he had forged them.

Others Oates accused included Dr. William Fogarty, Archbishop Peter Talbot of Dublin, Samuel Pepys, and John Belasyse, 1st Baron Belasyse. With the help of Danby the list grew to 81 accusations. Oates was given a squad of soldiers and he began to round up Jesuits.