Guy Fawkes Plot (1605)

Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot

Guy Fawkes

In 1605, a man named Guy Fawkes and a group of plotters attempted to blow up the Parliament building in London using barrels of gunpowder which were placed in the basement. Their goal was to kill King James and his leaders.

Why blow up the parliament?
This is the building where the laws that govern England are made.

The Parliament building in London England

Why assassinate the King?
The King was an unfortunate player in this game. He did not recall laws against Roman Catholics that Queen Elizabeth 1st had started. She died in 1603. A small group of Roman Catholics including Guy Fawkes believed that Roman Catholics were being treated unfairly. Catholics had to practice their religion in secret. There was even laws and fines for people who didn't attend the Protestant church on Sunday or on holy days. James 1st even passed more laws against Catholics when he became King (many had hoped he would be more tolerant).

King James 1

What was the plan?
The next time King James opened the Parliament the plotters would blow up the building using gunpowder. The group bought a house next door to the Parliament. The house had a cellar that went underneath the Parliament giving them unusual access. The plan involved putting gunpowder under their house. They got a hold of 36 barrels of gunpowder.

Guy Fawkes was given the job of keeping watch over the barrels of gunpowder and to light the fuse. On the morning of Nov. 5th, 1605 soldiers had searched and discovered Guy hidden in the cellar and arrested him. The plotters need more and more support.  One of the plotters had reached out and alerted his brother-in-law who was a lord not to attend Parliament on November 5th.

How did the soldiers know of the plot? 
One possibility is this was part of a sting operation using an undercover to gain access to the group. Another possibility surrounds gathering the necessary supplies (36 barrels of gunpowder) may have gotten the group on the radar of authorities. Another possibility is the rumour of a letter alerting one of the members of the government to stay away is now thought of being fabricated by king's officials. A suspected turncoat is Francis Tresham. One issue with the letter is that it was unsigned. Any of the plotters could have claimed ownership and could of saved themselves from torture and possibly death. No one did. Nor did any of them seem to know about it. The letter was also very vague in nature (it said nothing about the details of the planned attack) but yet the King and his men  knew exactly when and where to catch the plotters and to stop the explosion mere hours before it was set to take place. So the question becomes How did they know?

Tower of London

Guy was taken to the Tower of London. He was held and tortured and questioned about the identity of the other plotters. Eventually, he gave in and started talking.

Who were the co-conspirators?
Zealous Catholics that believed in by beheading the government, they could usher in a new era of Catholicism in Protestant England. There were 13 in total. They had their first meeting on May 20th, 1604.

• Robert Catesby -leader. After James's death, he had plans to make the king's young daughter, Elizabeth, queen and than later would arrange for her to marry a Catholic nobleman. He was well educated at Oxford University but left without his degree in order to avoid taking the Oath of Supremacy. In 1601, he tried to remove Elizabeth 1 from power with the Earl of Essex. Since he only had a minor role in this plan he was not executed but instead was heavily fined. In order to pay this fine, he needed to sell his manor house.
• Thomas Wintour
• Thomas Percy
• John Wright
• Christopher Wright
• Robert Wintour
• Thomas Bates
• Everard Digby- his role was to kidnap Princess Elizabeth from Coombe Abbey.
• Francis Tresham

Some of them were killed while resisting arrest. While others including Fawkes plead not guilty and went to trial. They were convicted of high treason. In January 1606, they were hung, drawn, and quartered.  Fawkes was executed with Thomas Wintour on January 31st, 1606.

Who was Guy Fawkes?
He was born in York in 1570.
His father Edward was a proctor of the ecclesiastical courts (religious courts).
He attended school at St. Peter's school with John and Christopher Wright.
Guy was brought up Protestant but was converted to Roman Catholic.
In 1592, he married Maria Pulleyn.
In 1593, he was enlisted in the Spanish army. He had munitions experience in the Netherlands.


The After Effects
King James celebrated his survival of this assassination plot against him by ordering the people of England to have a bonfire on the night of November 5th. This event is still remembered in England and is celebrated annually by both fireworks and the burning of effigies on November 5th. November 5th is called Guy Fawkes Day or Bonfire Night and is marked by celebrations throughout the United Kingdom.

73 years later in 1678, they began to search the cellars of the Parliament before opening each new session as a precaution.

An important thing to remember is the book V for Vendetta written by David Lloyd and Sir Alan Moore (a recent movie as well) transformed the character of Guy Fawkes from villain to hero. The character in the book wore a famous Guy Fawkes mask.

Guy Fawkes Mask

Sources:
   http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/guy/history.htm
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1856603,00.html
http://www.bonfirenight.net/gunpowder.php
http://www.bonfirenight.net/
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/STUfawkes.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/gunpowder_robinson_01.shtml