For part one, see my post of
yesterday.
When Titus Oates presented his ‘evidence’
to the Privy Council, King Charles II tore it to shreds, but Oates had the
support of the London mob, and standing up to him publicly - that was quite another matter. It would have caused an almighty row.
So the king did nothing to save
from execution at least 15 people he must have known to be innocent, while
Oates was heaped with honours and money.
But gradually people became more and more sceptical about Oates' claims, and in 1681 Charles had
him arrested and imprisoned. And when the king was succeeded by his brother, the
Catholic James II, who Oates had denounced, the perjurer was imprisoned for
life, put in the pillory and whipped through the streets of London.
The story was not quite over,
though. When James was deposed by his daughter Mary and his son-in-law, William III,
Oates was pardoned, released and given a pension.
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