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November 5, 1605
By: John Beilun / Time Traveler
While squatting in an undercroft beneath
the House of Lords, a soldier-of-fortune
toyed with a match. By his feet lay a slow fuse that
protruded from a pile of coal that hid 36 barrels of gunpowder.
The man checked his timepiece. It was a little past midnight just as
the King’s guard entered.
Unable to explain his presence, the intruder was arrested. Upon
discovery of the explosive casks, he was immediately dragged to the
Tower of London for inquisition.
England had been in turmoil for seventy years. Ever since Henry VIII
evicted the Catholic Church in 1534, thousands of its clergy had been
murdered, papal estates, churches and cathedrals confiscated, and
unreformed believers persecuted. Conditions did not improve during
his daughter Elizabeth’s 47 year reign.
After James I became King in 1603, many Catholics expected better
treatment. However, they were disappointed when he proved to be even
harsher on the Papists than his predecessor.
This precipitated in what came to be known as “The Gunpowder
Plot.” Over a dozen Catholics orchestrated a scheme to blow up the
King and all the members of Parliament when James came to address
them on the opening day of their next session – November 5, 1605.
The conspirators had, in fact, amassed enough gunpowder that
had it exploded it would have reduced Parliament to rubble, killing
the King and all else
within 100 meters and
shattering every window of
Westminster Abbey.
When the plot was foiled,
James was so relieved that
he immediately designated
November 5th as a time
of thanksgiving for that
“joyful day of deliverance.”
Although the man was
only a minor participant
among the thirteen
confirmed conspirators,
this day of celebration has
come to be known as “Guy Fawkes Day.” In typical English tonguein-cheek,
such “honor” goes to that soldier-of-fortune captured in
the cellar of the House of Lords and subsequently tortured, drawn,
quartered and beheaded.
As the centuries have gone by, Fawkes has somehow evolved from
the terrorist that he was (think of 20 th Century Belfast) to a hero of the
downtrodden (ala Robin Hood).
Among other things, political wags commonly refer to him as “the
only man ever to enter Parliament with honest intentions,” and songs
and poems have been written in his honor.
50
November 2020