the gunpowder plot - bbc history

8/9/2019 The Gunpowder Plot - BBC History

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The Gunpowder Plot

In 1605, a group of disaffected Catholics plotted to assassinate King James I by blowing up

the House of ords! "hey hoped to restore #rotestant $ngland to Catholicism and end the

persecution of their faith!

"he %&unpowder #lot% was foiled at the ele'enth hour, an e'ent still celebrated annually on 5

(o'ember and named for the most famous of the conspirators ) &uy *aw+es (ight! ut who

was &uy *aw+es and what are we remembering-

#hoto. /nattributed engra'ing of &uy *aw+es and fellow conspirators of the &unpowder

#lot, 1605 ary $'ans #icture ibrary2

More information about: The Gunpowder Plot

"Remember, remember, the 5th of November; Gunpowder, treason and plot; I see no reason

why gunpowder, treason; should ever be forgot."

3nd it hasn%t! *our centuries later we still celebrate the capture of &uy *aw+es, under the

House of ords, with 46 barrels of gunpowder, matches and fuses, about to blow up King

James I and his parliament! ut why did Catholics such as *aw+es plan to blow up the +ingand how was the plot foiled-

Persecution of Catholics

hen James I became +ing in 1604, ritain was a #rotestant country following decades of

tension and 'iolence between Catholics and the new religion! "he monarch was the head of

the church, with no loyalty to the pope in ome! Catholicism was a religion not 7ust

disappro'ed of by the state but acti'ely suppressed!

#ersecution of Catholics had become more and more se'ere during the reign of $li8abeth I,

particularly after the attempted in'asion in 1599 by the Catholic :panish 3rmada, which had

been supported by the pope! y the time of $li8abeth%s death, Catholic priests were forced to



say ass in secret in pri'ate houses and Catholics were re;uired to attend #rotestant ser'ices!

"hose that didn%t were fined as %recusants%!

ut on the accession of James I, hopes for a better future were high! His wife was a Catholic,

as had been his mother, ary, <ueen of :cots! 3ll the early signs were encouraging, as

reforms were made, e'en e=tending as far as the abolition of recusancy fines!

ut by 1605, under pressure from ad'isors such as his %spymaster% :ir obert Cecil, and in an

effort to placate more e=treme #rotestants such as the #uritans, James once again increased

penalties on those who still practised the Catholic religion!

>iscontent grew to the e=tent that some Catholics were willing to ta+e e=treme measures,

sponsored and supported by the Catholic monarchies of $urope! "wo plots against James had

already failed by the time fi'e men met in a ondon inn to discuss a new plan!

The plotters and their plan

"he &unpowder #lot of 1605, as it became +nown, was the brainchild of obert Catesby, a

well)to)do gentleman of arwic+shire! "ogether with &uy *aw+es and three other plotters,

they formulated a plan to stri+e at the opening of parliament on 5 (o'ember! ith the +ing

dead, they would put James% daughter, $li8abeth, on the throne, returning ritain to the

Catholic fold!

*aw+es posed as a ser'ant called John Johnson, and began sourcing gunpowder! "he plotters

rented a cellar under the House of ords and pac+ed it with enough e=plosi'e to +ill the +ing

and the most powerful men in the land as they sat in the room abo'e!

The 'Monteagle Letter' betrays the plotters

3s the plot neared fruition, something happened which would pro'e its downfall! ord

onteagle, the brother)in)law of one of the plotters, recei'ed an anonymous letter which

warned against attending #arliament for the opening!

onteagle passed the letter to obert Cecil, who decided to wait before ta+ing action! "he

plotters had no cause to belie'e their plan was in danger!

Guy Fawkes is arrested

?n @ (o'ember 1605, Cecil ordered searches of the whole of the Houses of #arliament, and*aw+es was arrested! He was found dressed for a swift e=it with spurs on his boots!

*aw+es endured two days of torture in the "ower of ondon before confessing all! It was

enough to buy the remaining plotters time to escape!

:ome of them desperately attempted to instigate the planned Catholic uprising, but to no

a'ail! "he plotters made their final stand at Holbeche House in :taffordshire, where se'eral,

including Catesby, died in a shoot)out with the +ing%s men! "he sur'i'ors were ta+en bac+ to

ondon for trial!



Guy Fawkes

?n 5 (o'ember e'ery year, the effigy of &uy *aw+es is still burned on bonfires across

$ngland in recognition of his part in the failed %&unpowder #lot% of 1605!

*aw+es didn%t de'ise or lead the plot to assassinate James I, so why is he still singled out as

one of ritish history%s greatest 'illains more than @00 years after his death-

#icture. #rint showing the $=ecution of &uy *aw+es, 1606 engra'ing2 by &erman :chool!

ridgeman 3rt ibrary td

More information about: Guy Fawkes

&uy *aw+es was born in 3pril 15A0 in Bor+! 3lthough his immediate family were all

#rotestants, in +eeping with the accepted religious practice in $ngland at the time, his

maternal grandparents were %recusant% Catholics, who refused to attend #rotestant ser'ices!

hen &uy was eight, his father died and his widowed mother married a Catholic, >ionisaynbrigge! It was these early influences that were to forge *aw+es% con'ictions as an adult!

Fawkes and pain

y the time he was 1 he had sold the estate his father had left him and gone to $urope to

fight for Catholic :pain against the #rotestant >utch republic in the $ighty Bears ar! His

military career went well and by 1604 he had been recommended for a captaincy! He had also

adopted the Italian 'ariant of his name, becoming +nown as %&uido%!

In the same year, he tra'elled to :pain to petition the +ing, #hilip III, for support in fomenting

a rebellion in $ngland against the DhereticD James I! >espite the fact that :pain and ritain

were still, technically, at war, #hilip refused!



!" man highly skilled in matters of war!

#ersonally, *aw+es was an imposing man! His former school friend ?swald "esimond, who

had become a Jesuit Catholic priest, described him as Dpleasant of approach and cheerful of

manner, opposed to ;uarrels and strife !!! loyal to his friendsD!

"esimond also claimed *aw+es was Da man highly s+illed in matters of warD, while the

historian 3ntonia *raser described him as Da tall, powerfully built man, with thic+ reddish)

brown hair, a flowing moustache in the tradition of the time, and a bushy reddish)brown

beard!!! a man of action !!! capable of intelligent argument as well as physical endurance,

somewhat to the surprise of his enemies!D

Fawkes is drawn into the plot

It was while on campaign fighting for :pain in *landers that *aw+es was approached by

"homas intour, one of the plotters, and as+ed to 7oin what would become +nown as the

&unpowder #lot, under the leadership of obert Catesby!

His e=pertise with gunpowder ga'e him a +ey ) and 'ery perilous ) role in the conspiracy, to

source and ignite the e=plosi'e! ut 19 months of careful planning was foiled with 7ust hours

to go, when he was arrested at midnight on @ (o'ember 1605 beneath the House of ords!

"hirty)si= barrels of gunpowder were found stac+ed in the cellar directly below where the

+ing would ha'e been sitting for the opening of parliament the ne=t day!

"he foiling of the plot had been e=pertly engineered by James I%s spymaster, obert Cecil!

*aw+es was sub7ected to 'arious tortures, including the rac+! "orture was technically illegal,

and James I was personally re;uired to gi'e a licence for *aw+es to endure its ra'ages!

hile 7ust the threat of torture was enough to brea+ the resol'e of many, *aw+es withstood

two days of the most terrible pain before he confessed all! *amously, his signature on his

confession was that of a shattered and bro+en man, the ill)formed letters telling the story of a

someone who was barely able to hold a ;uill! His fortitude throughout had impressed James I,

who said he admired *aw+es% Doman resolutionD!

*aw+es was sentenced to the traditional traitors% death ) to be %hanged, drawn and ;uartered%!

In the e'ent, he 7umped from the gallows, brea+ing his own nec+ and thereby a'oiding the

horror of being cut down while still ali'e, ha'ing his testicles cut off and his stomach opened

and his guts spilled before his eyes! His lifeless body was hac+ed into ;uarters and his

remains sent to Dthe four corners of the +ingdomD as a warning to others!

The burning of the 'guy'

&uy *aw+es instantly became a national bogeyman and the embodiment of Catholic

e=tremism! It was a propaganda coup for the #rotestant $nglish and ser'ed as a prete=t for

further repression of Catholics that would not be completely lifted for another 00 years!

It is perhaps surprising that *aw+es and not the charismatic ring)leader obert Catesby is

remembered, but it was *aw+es who was caught red)handed under the Houses of #arliament,

*aw+es who refused to spea+ under torture, and *aw+es who was publicly e=ecuted! Catesby,

by contrast, was +illed e'ading capture and was ne'er tried!



"hrough the centuries the &uy *aw+es legend has become e'er)more entrenched, and by the

1Eth Century it was his effigy that was being placed on the bonfires that were lit annually to

commemorate the failure of the plot!

Torture and e#ecution

?'er the course of the ne=t few wee+s, the sur'i'ing plotters and many others were

interrogated! ?n 40 and 41 January 1606, eight people, including *aw+es, were e=ecuted by

being hanged, drawn and ;uartered! "hree more were e=ecuted in the following months! $'en

those who had perished at Holbeche House were e=humed and decapitated!

The legacy of the Gunpowder Plot

In the aftermath of the plot, James I was in no mood for tolerance! (ew laws were passed

remo'ing Catholics% right to 'ote and restricting their role in public life! It would be another

00 years before these restrictions were fully lifted!

hile religious differences between Catholics and #rotestants ha'e largely been forgotten on

mainland ritain, we continue to celebrate the deli'erance of James I and the e=ecution of his

would)be assassins ) most notably *aw+es ) e'ery 5 (o'ember!

"he power of this single image ) the burning of a %guy% atop a bonfire ) has ensured the plot

endures in the national memory!

the gunpowder plot - bbc history

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