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TRANSCRIPT
Guy Fawkes and bonfire night
“Remember, remember the fifth of November, gunpowder treason and plot”
Guy Fawkes and his plan On the fourth of November 1605, Guy Fawkes (also known as Guido Fawkes or John Johnson) walked into the cellars under the House of Lords in England.
He was armed with a watch, a lamp, and a slow-burning match.
Early in the morning of the fifth of November, he was discovered. Fawkes admitted that his intention was to blow up the House of Lords and commit Regicide—the killing of a King—and destroy the government of England.
The Gunpowder Plot (1605) What was the plot?The plot was simple: Fawkes would destroy the Protestant government of England by blowing up the House of Lords. This would kill the nobles and the King (James 1 of England/James VI of Scotland) in the explosion.
Simultaneously, his co-conspirators would lead a revolt in the Midlands to install the King’s nine year old daughter, Elizabeth, as Queen. This would allow them to create a Catholic monarchy in Britain.
How would they blow up the House of Lords?For several months the conspirators had supposedly tunnelled from co-conspirator Robert Catesby’s house, toward the House of Lords. This house was also used to store barrels of gunpowder.
In March of 1605, the group managed to rent an undercroft, close to where they were tunnelling and underneath the House of Lords.
This would allow them to move the gunpowder underneath the House of Lords.
The undercroft, as illustrated in (1799)
By the 20th of July, 36 barrels of gunpowder had been moved to the undercroft. However, due to plague, the opening of parliament was delayed.
Parliament was finally scheduled to open on the 5th of November.
After replenishing decayed gunpowder, there were 36 barrels of gunpowder (1000kg), with wood covering and concealing the barrels, underneath the chamber where the Lords sat.
All it would take would be a match for this part of the plot.
The conspiratorsThe conspirators were:BatesRobert WinterChristopher WrightJohn WrightThomas PercyGuido (Guy) FawkesRobert CatesbyThomas Winter
So why did the conspiracy fail?If everything was ready, and all that was needed was to light the fuse, why did the plot fail?
The plot had been delayed several times. During that time Robert Catesby had sought advice from Father Henry Garnet about the morality of killing innocents, and confession from a Jesuit priest, Oswald Tesimond, about his role in the plot.
Catesby’s and other conspirators actions led to both the Pope issuing an letter forbidding rebellion, and for the nobles to be concerned about the possible killing of catholics. Lord Monteagle received an anonymous letter from some conspirators, advising him to avoid parliament on that day.
Suspicious, Monteagle showed the letter to the King, who ordered the searching of the House of Lords and the undercroft.
Fawkes was discovered.
AftermathAfter being convicted, the conspirators were sentenced to be:
“drawn backwards to his death, by a horse, his head near the ground.
He was to be ‘put to death halfway between heaven and earth as unworthy of both’.
His genitals would be cut off and burnt before his eyes, and his bowels and heart then removed.
Then he would be decapitated, and the dismembered parts of his body displayed so that they might become ‘prey for the fowls of the air’”.
LegacyAt that time, Londoners were encouraged to celebrate the King’s escape by lighting bonfires. In the subsequent year, 1606, an act of parliament was passed as a “joyful day of thanksgiving”.
Celebrations continue to this day, although the sectarian meaning largely has been lost.
How do people celebrate Gay Fawkes/bonfire night?Celebrations are now mostly large events which are organised by local councils
The councils put on firework displays.
Organised displays are safer, as there had been worries over people being injured by fireworks and bonfires.
Before these displays, people organised their own bonfire night/Guy Fawkes night.
This would be around a large bonfire, which often took around a month to prepare.
In the days before Guy Fawkes night, children would go around their neighbourhood with a ‘guy’ (an effigy) and collect money or wood for the bonfire.
Many other traditions have been largely lost. These included roasting marshmallows and baking potatoes in the fire.
