Oates was an ordained Anglican turned Catholic, who in turn was expelled from Catholic schools in Spain. He returned to London in 1673 with alleged information about a plot to assassinate Charles II and make the duke of York, a Catholic, king of England. For a time there was a great reaction against the Catholics and active persecution, while Oates became a hero. When the plot was found to be false he was convicted of perjury and exposed in the stocks to public degradation.