When was gunpowder plot

The early signs were encouraging. This relaxation led to considerable growth in the number of visible Catholics. Trying to juggle different religious demands, James was displeased at their increasing strength. The discovery in July of two small Catholic plots did not help. Although most Catholics were horrified, all were tainted by the threat of treason.

The situation deteriorated further at the Hampton Court Conference of January Trying to accommodate as many views as possible, James I expressed hostility against the Catholics in order to satisfy the Puritans, whose demands he could not wholly satisfy. In February he publicly announced his 'utter detestation' of Catholicism; within days all priests and Jesuits had been expelled and recusancy fines reintroduced. Although bitterly disappointed, most English Catholics prepared to swallow the imposition of the fines, and live their double lives as best they could.

But this passive approach did not suit all. Robert Catesby was a devout Catholic and familiar with the price of faith. His father had been imprisoned for harbouring a priest, and he himself had had to leave university without a degree, to avoid taking the Protestant Oath of Supremacy. Yet he possessed immense personal magnetism, crucial in recruiting and leading his small band of conspirators.

The fifth person was Guy Fawkes. Originally from York, he had been recruited in Flanders, where he had been serving in the Spanish Army. They discussed their plan to blow up Parliament House, and shortly afterwards leased a small house in the heart of Westminster, installing Fawkes as caretaker, under the alias of John Johnson.

With Parliament successively postponed to 5 November , over the following year the number of plotters gradually increased to ten. Robert Keyes, Robert Wintour, John Grant and Kit Wright were all relatives, by blood or marriage, to one or more of the original five conspirators. As one of Catesby's servants, Thomas Bates' loyalty was equally firm. In March the group took out a lease on a ground-floor cellar close by the house they had rented from John Whynniard. The cellar lay directly underneath the House of Lords, and over the following months 36 barrels of gunpowder were moved in, enough to blow everything and everyone in the vicinity sky high, if ignited.

Still hoping for foreign support, Fawkes travelled back to Flanders. Unsuccessful, he was also spotted by English spies. Both Rookwood and Digby were wealthy and owned large numbers of horses, essential for the planned uprising. Tresham was Catesby's cousin through marriage, and was brother-in-law to two Catholic peers, Lords Stourton and Monteagle. Back in London in October, with only weeks to go, the final details were planned.

Fawkes was to light the fuse and escape to continental Europe. To coincide with the explosion, Digby would lead a rising in the Midlands and kidnap King James's daughter, Princess Elizabeth, ready to install her as a puppet queen.

In Europe, Fawkes would be arguing the plotters' case to continental governments, to secure their passive acceptance, even support. But on the night of 26 October, an anonymous letter was delivered to Lord Monteagle, warning him to avoid the opening of Parliament.

He took the letter - generally thought to have come from Tresham - to Salisbury, who decided the best results would be achieved by striking at the last minute. Thomas Ward, one of Monteagle's servants, had warned the plotters of the letter. Undaunted, they returned to London, and on 4 November Percy visited his patron, Northumberland, to sniff out any potential danger. Catholic recusants from the Latin recusare , to refuse were fined, intimidated and imprisoned. Priests and Jesuits dispatched to England in an attempt to maintain the Catholic faith risked torture and execution.

Yet it was to be a false dawn. Two years on, it was becoming increasingly clear that the new king was prepared to grant Catholics few concessions. The plotters knew that they had a good chance of passing undetected through this melee. Their initial plan was to occupy a property next to the House of Lords and to tunnel from one cellar to another, but the mining proved too time-consuming. This enabled them to bring in the gunpowder without being challenged.

A security sweep failed to spot the significance of the pile of firewood and barrels that had accumulated in the cellar. The letter reached James I, who ordered a second search. Only then was the plot revealed, preventing nearly a tonne of gunpowder from tearing through parliament.

English Catholics had looked to Spain for support since the reign of Elizabeth I. In , a rebellion of the northern earls had hoped to depose Elizabeth with Spanish naval backing — although the ships never arrived. Later on, English Catholic naval pilots had sailed with the Spanish Armada. But a generation after this, the political landscape had changed. For them, the accession of James I created an opportunity to end the costly war with England — and, in August , Spanish and English delegations met at Somerset House in London to sign a peace treaty.

Their plans to achieve all this were hazy at best. Britain was a monarchy, so royal rule would have had to have continued under a new Catholic regime. But Catesby favoured capturing the nine-year-old Princess Elizabeth, appointing a protector and marrying the puppet monarch to a Catholic husband.

All eight were found guilty and by the end of January , all eight had been executed. The plotters were hung, drawn and quartered. Their heads were then set upon poles as a warning to others. As result of the plot, James I became more popular having survived an attempt on his life. However, it became harder for Catholics to practise their religion or play a part in society. Finally, there is no doubt that Guy Fawkes is remembered incorrectly as the main plotter, a myth perpetuated as generations of children celebrate Bonfire Night.

It is worth getting students to try and read the document, however transcripts and additional simplified transcripts are also provided. The second source is an extract from the examination of John Johnson, also known as Guy Fawkes. A government proclamation then details the search for the plotters and the last source explains what happened to some of them. Teachers may wish to use the lesson for a group-based activity or pair working. Work on the topic could be extended by the following activities:.

The Gunpowder Plot More background and resources on the plot produced by Parliament. Civil War and Revolution What if the gunpowder plot had succeeded? Key stage 1 An event beyond living memory that is significant nationally; Significant people. Key stage 3 The development of Church, state and society in Britain Download: Lesson pack Related resources Crime and punishment.

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