Page "Third Anglo-Dutch War" Paragraph 28

The Treaty of Dover was not only aimed at the Dutch Republic but also at the domination of Protestantism in England ; Charles had promised Louis to try and end it.

In accordance on 25 March 1672 he had issued the Royal Declaration of Indulgence, as a first step to complete religious tolerance.

Parliament was shocked by this, but at first was unaware of the relation with the French alliance ; in February 1673 it voted to start funding the alliance in exchange for a suspension of the Indulgence ( and an issuing of the Test Act in March ), not as yet seeing any contradiction in such policies.

This would soon change however.

Arlington's former secretary, Pierre du Moulin, had after fleeing to the Republic begun to work for William ; in the summer of 1673 he exploited the fears of the English population by starting a propaganda campaign, using one of the Dutch main assets: the world's largest printing capacity.

Soon England was flooded with tens of thousands of pamphlets accusing Charles of wanting to make the country Catholic again in conspiracy with the French king.

The campaign was a complete success, convincing the English people that such a plan really existed ; it was greatly aided by the decision by Charles's brother James, the Duke of York, to lay down his position as Lord High Admiral, which was generally ( and correctly ) interpreted as a sign that James had in secret become a Catholic and was therefore unable to abjure the transubstantiation doctrine, as the Test Act demanded of all officials.

In September James married the Catholic Mary of Modena, a beautiful young girl especially selected for him by King Louis.

As Charles himself had no legitimate offspring, this created the strong prospect of a Catholic dynasty ruling England in the future.