<P> After a long spell of hot and dry weather through mid-1666, what later became known as the Great Fire of London started on 2 September 1666 in a bakehouse on Pudding Lane . Fanned by a strong easterly wind and fed by stockpiles of wood and fuel that had been prepared for the coming colder months, the fire eventually consumed about 13,200 houses and 87 churches, including St Paul's Cathedral . Charles and his brother James joined and directed the fire - fighting effort . The public blamed Catholic conspirators for the fire, and one Frenchman, Robert Hubert, was hanged on the basis of a false confession even though he had no hand in starting the fire . </P> <P> Since 1640, Portugal had been fighting a war against Spain to restore its independence after a dynastic union of sixty years between the crowns of Spain and Portugal . Portugal had been helped by France, but in the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 Portugal was abandoned by its French ally . Negotiations with Portugal for Charles's marriage to Catherine of Braganza began during his father's reign and upon the restoration, Queen Luísa of Portugal, acting as regent, reopened negotiations with England that resulted in an alliance . On 23 June 1661, a marriage treaty was signed; England acquired Catherine's dowry of Tangier (in North Africa) and the Seven islands of Bombay (the latter having a major influence on the development of the British Empire in India), together with trading privileges in Brazil and the East Indies, religious and commercial freedom in Portugal and two million Portuguese crowns (about £ 300,000); while Portugal obtained military and naval support against Spain and liberty of worship for Catherine . Catherine journeyed from Portugal to Portsmouth on 13--14 May 1662, but was not visited by Charles there until 20 May . The next day the couple were married at Portsmouth in two ceremonies--a Catholic one conducted in secret, followed by a public Anglican service . </P> <P> The same year, in an unpopular move, Charles sold Dunkirk to his first cousin King Louis XIV of France for about £ 375,000 . The channel port, although a valuable strategic outpost, was a drain on Charles's limited finances . </P> <P> Before Charles's restoration, the Navigation Acts of 1650 had hurt Dutch trade by giving English vessels a monopoly, and had started the First Dutch War (1652--1654). To lay foundations for a new beginning, envoys of the States General appeared in November 1660 with the Dutch Gift . The Second Dutch War (1665--1667) was started by English attempts to muscle in on Dutch possessions in Africa and North America . The conflict began well for the English, with the capture of New Amsterdam (renamed New York in honour of Charles's brother James, Duke of York) and a victory at the Battle of Lowestoft, but in 1667 the Dutch launched a surprise attack on England (the Raid on the Medway) when they sailed up the River Thames to where a major part of the English fleet was docked . Almost all of the ships were sunk except for the flagship, Royal Charles, which was taken back to the Netherlands as a trophy . The Second Dutch War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Breda . </P>

Who revealed this plot which was eventually made known to the king