One morning in 1705, an ape who had been the mascot of a ship that wrecked, washed ashore in a rowboat at West Hartlepool in England. The villagers had never seen an ape before, and since England was then at war with France, they assumed the strange creature was a French spy and immediately placed it under arrest. At the ape’s court martial, the unfortunate animal was found guilty of espionage and sent to the gallows.
Source:
Stephens, John Richard. “Ignorance and Intelligence.” Weird History 101: Tales of Intrigue, Mayhem, and Outrageous Behavior. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2006. 123. Print.
Gawd, the jokes I have to stop myself from putting in print.