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TITUS OATES

Titus Oates was an English conspirator. He was born in 1649 at Oakham and died in 1705. He was the principal informer in the so-called Popish plot in England. Taking advantage of the public's hostility toward Roman Catholics, in 1678 Oates gave the authorities details of a fictitious plot by Catholics to murder the Protestant monarch Charles II and to replace him with his Catholic brother, James, duke of York. As a result of the testimony of Oates and his followers, about 35 people lost their lives from 1678 and 1681. Oates himself for a time received a large pension and lived in Whitehall Palace. Charles died in 1685 and was succeeded by the duke of York as King James II. Oates was then brought to trial, found guilty of perjury, and sentenced to life imprisonment. After James was deposed by the Glorious Revolution in 1688, Oates was freed by the new king, William III.
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