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5 November 1605
The Gunpowder Plot is discovered when Guy Fawkes, who was meant to light the fuse, is arrested in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament after a tip-off. The plot, organised by a group of subversive Catholics led by Robert Catesby, aims to blow up James I and the whole ruling class, thus provoking a Catholic uprising and the crowning of a Catholic monarch. The plot comes about when Parliament forces James I, who initially relaxes the penal laws against Catholics, to reverse his decision and some Catholics feel betrayed. After the plot's discovery, Catesby, Fawkes and their fellow conspirators are executed, and James I declares 5 November a day of national celebration. See Treason for the full story. — • — The rhyme 'Remember, remember, the Fifth of November,/Gunpowder, treason and plot' conveyed a warning call to vigilance: it could happen again. The Catholics were still there, mingling with the English crowd or haunting the court, or massed in hostile Ireland, entrenched in rural Wales, gathered in areas of Scotland and massed on the mainland of Europe. From A Century of Troubles by Stevie Davies (Channel 4 Books) |
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