In 1665 England became
involved in a war with Holland. The war did not go well, and in 1667
the Dutch fleet defeated the English navy. Charles
II feared that
a weakened England was now likely to be invaded by the French. For
hundreds of years the French were seen as England's main European
rivals. One of the reasons for this constant conflict concerned the
subject of religion. Whereas England was a Protestant nation, France
had always remained loyal to the Catholic faith.
Charles II, afraid that
his powerful neighbour might try and invade England, sent his sister
Henrietta to talk to Louis XIV of France. In their talks, Henrietta
told Louis XIV that Charles II wanted England and France to become
allies. Louis XIV replied that he was willing to help England but
in return he demanded that Charles become a Catholic. Charles agreed
to this but argued that he needed time before announcing his decision
to the people of England. Charles feared that the English Protestants
might try to overthrow him when they realised that they had a Catholic
king.
In 1670 Charles
II and Louis
XIV signed the Treaty of Dover. In the treaty Louis XIV agreed to
give Charles a yearly pension. A further sum of money would be paid
once Charles announced to the English people that he had joined the
Catholic church. Louis XIV also promised to send Charles 6,000 French
soldiers if the English people rebelled against him. For his part,
Charles agreed to help the French against the Dutch. He also promised
to do what he could to stop the English Protestants
from persecuting Catholics.
This treaty was kept secret
from the English people while Charles tried to persuade Parliament
to become more friendly towards the French government. Charles used
some of the money to bribe certain members of Parliament. These MPs,
who supported Charles' pro-Catholic policies, became known as
Tories by their opponents in Parliament.
However, the vast majority
of members of Parliament remained loyal Protestants. When Charles
suspended acts of Parliament that punished Roman Catholics, Parliament
passed the Test Act in 1673. This act required all government officials
to swear an oath that they were Protestants. Several of the king's
senior ministers were now forced to resign.
In 1678, Titus
Oates, an Anglican minister announced that he had discovered a
Catholic plot to kill Charles
II. Oates claimed that Charles
was to be replaced by his Roman Catholic brother, James.
He went on to argue that after James came to the throne Protestants
would be massacred in their thousands. This announcement made Catholics
more unpopular than ever, and eighty of them were arrested and accused
of taking part in the plot. Several were executed before it was revealed
that Titus Oates had been lying.
Catholics hoped that Charles
would now fight back and attempt to destroy the power of the Protestant
church in England. However Charles was convinced that any attempt
to do this would end in defeat. Therefore, he waited until he was
on his deathbed before he declared that he was a Roman Catholic.
(1)
Sir
Thomas Clifford worked for Charles II. In 1682 he recorded these views
on the Secret Treaty of Dover.
Henrietta
of England... whose intelligence was equal to her beauty... sister
to the King of England and sister-in-law to the
King of France... met Louis XIV and promised that Parliament would
re-establish the Catholic religion in the three kingdoms of England,
Scotland and Ireland.
(2)
The Secret Treaty of Dover
(1670)
The King of England, being
convinced of the truth of the Catholic religion... agrees to be reconciled
to the Church of Rome, as soon as his kingdom's affairs shall permit
him... the said King (Louis XIV) agrees to assist his Majesty (Charles
II).. if in need... by sending 6,000 men.
(3)
H.
Arnold-Forster, History of England (1898)
Titus Oates claimed...
that the object of the plot... was to murder the king and
destroy the Protestant religion It is certain that the greater part,
if not the whole, of Oates's story was untrue; but enough had been
said to raise the fears of the Protestants and many Roman Catholics
were imprisoned.
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