Gunpowder Plot Foiled: Guy Fawkes Executed
Guy Fawkes was discovered guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder beneath the House of Lords shortly after midnight on November 5, 1605. The plot's mastermind, Robert Catesby, had recruited a group of English Catholics to blow up Parliament during the State Opening, killing King James I and the entire Protestant establishment. An anonymous letter to Lord Monteagle betrayed the conspiracy. Fawkes was arrested, tortured on the rack until he revealed his co-conspirators' names, and executed by hanging, drawing, and quartering on January 31, 1606. Eight plotters were executed in total. The plot's failure triggered new anti-Catholic laws and entrenched Protestant dominance in Britain for centuries. November 5 became an annual celebration: bonfires, fireworks, and burning effigies of Fawkes. Four centuries later, 'Remember, remember the fifth of November' is still recited.
November 5, 1605
421 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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