Catherine of Braganza during the Popish Plot and Exclusion Crisis: Anti‐Catholicism in the Houses of Commons and Lords, 1678–81*

Abstract

AbstractThis article evaluates how Catherine of Braganza was scrutinised in parliament during the Popish Plot and Exclusion Crisis, 1678–81. During this period, politicians used Catherine as a political pawn to try and pressurise Charles II to secure the line of succession, which included proposals that he should divorce her and remarry, in order to secure the line of succession away from his Catholic convert brother, James, duke of York. The article focuses on how Catherine's 1661 articles of marriage became central in parliamentary debates following the Popish Plot scandal, and the extent to which politicians considered how far they could control Catherine's Catholic household without breaching the articles, or aggravating Portugal. The colonial assets of Tangier and Bombay (acquired by Britain upon Catherine's marriage to Charles), are given serious attention in understanding decisions made by parliament during this period, as removing Catherine as queen threatened to jeopardise Britain's foreign policy relationship with Portugal, as well as its trade networks and aspirations for colonial enterprises. This article, therefore, revisits Catherine of Braganza's reputation and character through the lens of the Popish Plot and Exclusion Crisis, and how Catherine's place in the Popish Plot narrative influenced England's international relationship with Portugal.