Parliamentary Investigation
On the following Monday, people started attacking foreigners (normally the French and Dutch) who they thought had started the fire. Four guards saved a Frenchman who was being beaten by a mob. Also, a Dutchman was killed when a man came up behind him and bludgeoned his head with a lead pipe. Samuel Pepys reported that there was a great deal of alarm among the French and Dutch. On
Thursday, King Charles went to Moorefields to speak to the people made homeless by the fire. He declared that the fire had not been started by foreign powers but was an "Act of God". Few were convinced, they needed someone to blame. Due to unrest, the Parliamentary Committee was appointed to find the cause of the fire. Even though several people came forward to confess they had started the fire, including a French Protestant watchmaker, Robert Hubert, Parliament didn't believe them because the details of their confession changed as flaws were pointed out. Parliament finally came to the conclusion that Jesuit priests had set fire to the city. It wasn't until 1831, one hundred sixty five years later, that people finally started viewing the fire as an accident.
Thursday, King Charles went to Moorefields to speak to the people made homeless by the fire. He declared that the fire had not been started by foreign powers but was an "Act of God". Few were convinced, they needed someone to blame. Due to unrest, the Parliamentary Committee was appointed to find the cause of the fire. Even though several people came forward to confess they had started the fire, including a French Protestant watchmaker, Robert Hubert, Parliament didn't believe them because the details of their confession changed as flaws were pointed out. Parliament finally came to the conclusion that Jesuit priests had set fire to the city. It wasn't until 1831, one hundred sixty five years later, that people finally started viewing the fire as an accident.