1. Early Life and Education
Titus Oates was born on 15 September 1649 in Oakham, Rutland, England. His father, Samuel Oates (1610-1683), hailed from a family of ribbon-weavers in Norwich. Samuel was a graduate of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and had a fluctuating religious career, moving between the Church of England (where he was at one point the rector of Marsham, Norfolk) and the Baptists. He became a Baptist during the English Civil War but rejoined the established church upon the English Restoration, serving as the rector of All Saints' Church at Hastings from 1666 to 1674. Titus's mother was Lucy Oates.
Oates received his education at Merchant Taylors' School and other institutions. He matriculated at Cambridge University, entering Gonville and Caius College in 1667 before transferring to St John's College in 1669. However, he left later that same year without obtaining a degree. Oates was not considered an astute student; his tutor reportedly described him as "a great dunce," although he did possess a good memory. While at Cambridge, he also developed a reputation for homosexuality and a "Canting Fanatical way."
2. Religious Career and Early Controversies
Oates's early career was marked by a series of ethical and legal troubles. By falsely claiming to possess a degree, he managed to obtain a license to preach from the Bishop of London. On 29 May 1670, he was ordained as a priest of the Church of England. He served as the vicar of the parish of Bobbing in Kent from 1673 to 1674, and subsequently as a curate to his father at All Saints' Church in Hastings. During his time in Hastings, Oates falsely accused a schoolmaster of sodomy with one of his pupils, hoping to secure the schoolmaster's position for himself. However, the charge was proven false, and Oates himself soon faced charges of perjury. He managed to evade imprisonment by fleeing to London.
In 1675, Oates was appointed as a chaplain aboard the ship HMS Adventure in the Royal Navy. During his naval service, he visited English Tangier. There, he was accused of buggery, an offense that carried the death penalty in England at the time. He was spared only due to his clerical status. Consequently, he was dismissed from the Navy in 1676.
In August 1676, Oates was arrested in London and returned to Hastings to face trial for his outstanding perjury charges. Yet again, he escaped and made his way back to London. With the assistance of the actor Matthew Medbourne, Oates joined the household of the Catholic Henry Howard, 7th Duke of Norfolk as an Anglican chaplain for the Protestant members of the Duke's staff. Although initially admired for his preaching, he quickly lost this position. On Ash Wednesday in 1677, Oates was formally received into the Catholic Church. Peculiarly, at the same time, he agreed to co-author a series of anti-Catholic pamphlets with Israel Tonge, whom he had met through his father Samuel, who had once again reverted to Baptist doctrine.
3. Jesuit Affiliations and Plotting
Oates's association with Jesuit institutions played a crucial role in the development of his fabricated plot. He spent time at the Jesuit houses of St Omer in France and the Royal English College at Valladolid in Spain. He was admitted to the training course for the priesthood in Valladolid with the support of Richard Strange, the head of the English Province, despite his notable lack of basic competence in Latin. Oates later falsely claimed to have become a Catholic Doctor of Divinity. His ignorance of Latin was swiftly exposed, and his frequent blasphemous conversations and attacks on the British monarchy shocked both his teachers and fellow students. Thomas Whitbread, the new Provincial, adopted a much firmer stance with Oates than Strange had, leading to Oates's expulsion from St Omer in June 1678.
Upon his return to London, Oates re-established his friendship with Israel Tonge. Oates asserted that he had only pretended to convert to Catholicism to uncover the secrets of the Jesuits and that, before his expulsion, he had learned of a planned Jesuit meeting in London. This fabricated narrative formed the basis for his infamous conspiracy.
4. Fabrication of the Popish Plot
Oates, in collaboration with Israel Tonge, meticulously crafted a false narrative accusing the Catholic Church of a plot to assassinate King Charles II, leading to widespread accusations, the suspicious death of a magistrate, and significant parliamentary and royal reactions.
Oates and Tonge collaborated on a lengthy manuscript that falsely accused the Catholic Church authorities in England of sanctioning the assassination of King Charles II, with the Jesuits supposedly tasked with carrying out the deed. In August 1678, the King was first alerted to this alleged plot by the chemist Christopher Kirkby, and subsequently by Tonge. Charles II remained skeptical, but he referred the matter to one of his ministers, Thomas Osborne, Earl of Danby. Danby, more receptive to the claims, was introduced to Oates by Tonge.
The King's Privy Council interrogated Oates. On 28 September, Oates presented 43 allegations against various members of Catholic religious orders, including 541 Jesuits, and numerous Catholic nobles.
4.1. Accusations and Key Figures
Oates's accusations targeted prominent figures within the Catholic community. He specifically implicated Sir George Wakeman, the physician to Queen Catherine of Braganza, and Edward Colman, the secretary to Mary of Modena, the Duchess of York, claiming they were involved in a scheme to assassinate King Charles II. While Oates may have selected names arbitrarily or with the assistance of the Earl of Danby, Colman was found to have corresponded with Father Ferrier, a French Jesuit and confessor to Louis XIV, which was deemed sufficient to condemn him. Sir George Wakeman, however, was later acquitted.
Despite Oates's questionable reputation, his confident demeanor and remarkable memory made a surprisingly strong impression on the Privy Council. The council members were reportedly "amazed" when Oates, "at a glance," identified the alleged authors of five letters supposedly written by leading Jesuits. As historian J.P. Kenyon noted, it is remarkable that the council did not consider the possibility that this evidence was worthless if Oates himself had forged all the letters.
Other individuals accused by Oates included William Fogarty, Archbishop Peter Talbot of Dublin, Samuel Pepys MP, and John Belasyse, 1st Baron Belasyse. With the Earl of Danby's assistance, the list of accusations expanded to 81. Oates was granted a squad of soldiers and proceeded to round up Jesuits, including some who had previously assisted him.
4.2. The Murder of Sir Edmundbury Godfrey
A pivotal event that dramatically escalated the Popish Plot's credibility was the mysterious death of Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey. On 6 September 1678, Oates and Tonge approached Godfrey, an Anglican magistrate, and swore an affidavit before him, detailing their elaborate accusations. On 12 October, Godfrey disappeared. Five days later, his dead body was discovered in a ditch at Primrose Hill; he had been strangled and run through with his own sword. Oates immediately exploited this incident, using it to launch a fervent public campaign against the "Papists" and alleging that Godfrey's murder was the work of the Jesuits, further inflaming anti-Catholic sentiment.
4.3. Parliamentary and Royal Reaction
On 24 November 1678, Oates escalated his claims, asserting that the Queen herself was conspiring with the King's physician to poison the King. Oates also enlisted the aid of "Captain" William Bedloe, a known opportunist who was willing to fabricate testimony for financial gain.
King Charles II personally interrogated Oates and quickly exposed numerous inaccuracies and outright lies in his testimony. Notably, Oates unwisely claimed to have had an interview with the Regent of Spain, Don John, in Madrid. The King, who had personally met Don John in Brussels during his own Continental exile, pointed out that Oates's hopelessly inaccurate description of Don John's appearance made it clear that Oates had never seen him. Based on these inconsistencies, the King ordered Oates's arrest.
However, just a few days later, facing the threat of a major constitutional crisis, Parliament intervened and forced Oates's release. Subsequently, Oates was granted a state apartment in Whitehall and an annual allowance of 1.20 K GBP. He was widely praised, even seeking a coat of arms from the College of Arms, and was granted the arms of a family that had died out. There were even rumors that Oates was to marry a daughter of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, a prominent Whig leader.
5. Societal Impact and Consequences
The widespread belief in Oates's fabricated Popish Plot resulted in a period of intense anti-Catholic persecution, leading to numerous wrongful executions, before public opinion gradually shifted against Oates and his claims.
The Popish Plot, fueled by Titus Oates's perjured testimony, had a devastating impact on English society, intensifying anti-Catholic sentiment and leading to a period of widespread persecution and injustice.
5.1. Persecution and Executions
The climate of fear and suspicion generated by Oates's fabrications led to the trials and executions of numerous individuals, often based solely on his false testimony. Over a period of nearly three years, at least 15 innocent men were executed. One of the last high-profile victims of this period of intense suspicion was Oliver Plunkett, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, who was brutally hanged, drawn and quartered on 1 July 1681. These executions represent a grave miscarriage of justice and a dark chapter in English history concerning religious intolerance.
5.2. Shifting Public Opinion
After nearly three years of fear-mongering and the tragic executions of innocent individuals, public opinion gradually began to turn against Oates. William Scroggs, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, who had previously presided over trials where Oates's testimony was accepted, began to declare more people innocent, as he had done in the acquittal of Sir George Wakeman. This shift in judicial stance contributed to a growing backlash against Oates and his Whig supporters, as the credibility of his claims increasingly came under scrutiny.
6. Downfall and Punishment
Despite initial success, Oates's fabrications eventually led to his downfall, culminating in his arrest for sedition, conviction for perjury, and an exceptionally severe public punishment.
Titus Oates's downfall began on 31 August 1681, when he was ordered to vacate his state apartments in Whitehall. Undeterred, he continued to publicly denounce the King and his Catholic brother, James, Duke of York. Consequently, he was arrested for sedition, sentenced to a fine of 100.00 K GBP, and imprisoned.
6.1. Perjury Conviction and Sentence
When the Duke of York ascended to the throne in 1685 as King James II, he had Oates retried. Oates was convicted and sentenced for perjury. His punishment was exceptionally severe: he was stripped of his clerical dress, sentenced to life imprisonment, and condemned to be "whipped through the streets of London five days a year for the remainder of his life."
The harshness of his sentence was evident in its execution. Oates was taken from his cell wearing a hat emblazoned with the text "Titus Oates, convicted upon full evidence of two horrid perjuries." He was then placed in the pillory at the gate of Westminster Hall (now New Palace Yard), where passers-by pelted him with eggs. The following day, he was again pilloried in London. On the third day, he was stripped, tied to a cart, and whipped from Aldgate to Newgate. The next day, he endured another whipping from Newgate to Tyburn.
The presiding judge at Oates's trial was Judge Jeffreys, who famously declared Oates to be a "shame to mankind." This statement was particularly ironic given that Jeffreys himself had previously contributed to the condemnation of innocent people based on Oates's perjured evidence. Jeffreys acknowledged that evidence presented in the second perjury trial had not been believed in earlier proceedings when it contradicted Oates's testimony. He expressed regret that this newly presented evidence had not been available earlier, particularly during the trials of Ireland and the five Jesuits (at which he had presided), as it "might have saved some innocent blood." The penalties imposed on Oates were so extreme that historians, including Thomas Babington Macaulay, have suggested the aim was to cause his death through ill-treatment, as Jeffreys and his fellow judges openly lamented their inability to impose the death penalty for perjury.
7. Pardon, Later Life, and Death
Oates remained imprisoned for the next three years. In 1689, with the accession of the Protestant monarchs William of Orange and Mary, Oates was pardoned. He was also granted a pension of 260 GBP per year. However, his reputation, irrevocably tarnished by his fabrications and their devastating consequences, never recovered. His pension was later suspended, but it was restored and increased to 300 GBP per year in 1698. Titus Oates died on 12 or 13 July 1705, by which time he had become an obscure and largely forgotten figure.
8. Legacy and Cultural Depictions
Titus Oates's legacy is primarily defined by the devastating impact of the Popish Plot on English society. His actions led to a period of intense religious persecution, the wrongful execution of innocent individuals, and a profound undermining of justice, serving as a stark historical example of how fear and fabricated accusations can be exploited for political gain, with severe consequences for human rights and social stability.
Oates's notoriety has led to his portrayal in various forms of popular culture:
- The poet John Dryden famously described Oates in his 1681 satirical poem Absalom and Achitophel with the lines: "Sunk were his eyes, his voice was harsh and loud, Sure signs he neither choleric was nor proud: His long chin proved his wit, his saint-like grace A church vermilion and a Moses' face."
- Francis Barlow created a comic strip around 1682 titled A True Narrative of the Horrid Hellish Popish Plot, which is widely regarded as one of the earliest examples of a signed balloon comic strip.
- In the 1969 BBC TV serial The First Churchills, Oates was played by Nicholas Smith.
- Eddie Marsan portrayed Oates in the 2003 television series Charles II: The Power and The Passion.