Popish soap was a derisive name applied to soap manufactured under a patent granted by Charles I. Because the board of the manufacturing company included Catholics, the term ''Popish Soap'' (after The
Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
) was applied to this monopoly commodity. It was said by
anti-Catholics to be particularly harmful to
linen and
washerwomen's
hands.
During the personal rule of the English King
Charles I (1629–1640), one of the ways in which he attempted to raise money was through the granting of
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...
s. This came about as a result of a loophole in the
statute forbidding such action.
One such patent was granted to a soap corporation.
[Martz, Dorilyn Ellen, and College of William and Mary. Department of History. Charles I and "Popish Soap": An Exercise in Factional Court Politics. 2000.]
The soap industry was overseen by Lord Treasurer Portland and his friends, all of whom displayed Catholic character. When Portland died, Laud and Cottington contended over the company, which increased annual profits to the crown to nearly 33,000 pounds by the end of the 1630s.
It was alleged that popish soap scarred the soul as well as skin and fabric.
Notes
References
Soaps
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