The Poor-Whores Petition

Apprentice boys and men burnt and smashed up brothels, including those owned by madams such as Damaris Page and Elizabeth Cresswell; the rioters assaulted the prostitutes and looted the properties.

[6][7] Charles was suspected of being a practising Catholic; his wife, Catherine of Braganza and brother, heir to the throne, and the future James II, were openly so, and the family was close to the French royal court.

However, as historian James Grantham Turner underlines, there may have been no political agenda to the letter, as Castlemaine was already the target of court wits and city satire for her lascivious reputation.

"[4] The letter itself was so finely tuned to the political dynamics of the day that though the printer was arrested, the court censor writes that "I can fasten nothing on The Poor Whore's Petition that a jury will take notice of."

The historian James Turner terms this event as an example of a new carnivalisation of sexuality in Restoration England, where genuine political attack, satire, street commentary and bawdy theatre came together.

[6] Turner comments: "These broadsides were indeed printed, distributed, and enjoyed by the radical underground; by changing their style from fiery sermonizing to sexual mockery and ventriloquistic parody, anti-monarchist dissidents exploit the amphibiousness of festive-aggressive satire.