I want to talk about the 5th of November. Why? Failure is something we all have to live with. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve failed just this week alone. The point is, my failures have not changed the world; well, not yet anyway. But can you imagine failing at something, and 417 years later, people still celebrate that failure?
Guy Fawkes is synonymous with the Gunpowder Plot of 1605; along with a Alan Moore comic book, a Hollywood movie, a famous poem and fireworks. Lots of fireworks. But that’s not the whole story; it was a team effort. It’s complicated, but I’ve always thought that the 5th of November was akin to Dunkirk; victory from the jaws of defeat. You’re probably scratching your head thinking, ”Oh no, what in the hell is he ranting about now?”
Don’t worry, I’ll try to explain this as painlessly as I can, but no promises!
Remember, remember, the 5th of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, ’twas his intent
To blow up the King and the Parliament
Three score barrels of powder below
Poor old England to overthrow
By God’s providence he was catch’d
With a dark lantern and burning match
Holler boys, holler boys, let the bells ring
Holler boys, holler boys
God save the King!
You and I haven’t done this in awhile, but let’s sit inside our heads and travel back in time to England, at the turn of the 17th century. This is a time before Brexit, reality television and three prime ministers in two months. This is the time of Shakespeare, the British colonization of the Americas and the First Polish–Swedish War.
Sitting on the English throne was the OG herself, Elizabeth I, from the House of Tudor. She reigned from 1558 to her death in 1603, aged 69. There are two major things to remember about Elizabeth; when she died, she had no children. Therefore, there was no direct line for the succession for the throne. The other part was that Elizabeth was Protestant. Remember that.
At the time, Catholics and Protestants worshipped the same God; they just argued about how do it. A lot. The main problem was that the English monarch determined what the main religion would be for the country; basically you could be punished for the worshipping in the wrong religion. This was an issue across Europe, and Elizabeth’s father, Henry VIII, made things worse by telling Pope Clement VII to stick it, and created his own religion; the Church of England, so he could divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.
This feud between the two denominations, has been passed on for centuries. Some of the best/worst examples of this feud, is currently in Northern Ireland, but also in Scottish Football, of all places, with Celtic FC traditionally supported by Catholics, while Rangers FC were supported by the Protestants.
Anyway, Elizabeth was succeeded by a distant relative, King James VI and I (VI of Scotland and I of England) from the House of Stuart. James was a Protestant, but he was quite tolerant towards Catholics. However, over the next two years and for various reasons; but mainly persecution, some Catholics were feeling it would be better if the Throne of England belonged to a Catholic monarch, and not a Protestant.
This is the part of the story where Guy Fawkes enters, but he’s not alone. The original group of the five conspirators were Guy Fawkes of course, Thomas Wintour, John Wright, Thomas Percy, and the true mastermind behind the whole project, Robert Catesby. This group later recruited other members like Robert Wintour, Christopher Wright, Francis Tresham, Robert Keyes, John Grant, Thomas Bates, Ambrose Rookwood, and Sir Everard Digby.
Their plan involved two different stages:
1.) To kill King James, his wife and eldest son, along with Lords, Judges, members of Parliament, and other targets. They would do this by blowing up the Houses of Parliament, at the State opening on 5th November, 1605.
2.) To kidnap the nine year old Elizabeth Stuart; King James’ daughter, through a revolt in the Midlands. The idea was to place her on the Throne of England, Scotland and Ireland, as a Catholic Queen. This was provided her father and brother were killed.
To destroy the Houses of Parliament, dozens of gunpowder barrels would be used for the explosion. They would be positioned in a cellar, underneath Parliament. It was decided that Fawkes would light the fuse and detonate the gunpowder, then escape across the River Thames.
Everything was going well with the plot, but the truth is stranger than fiction, because a group of betrayers and plotters, were in turn, betrayed themselves. Tragic irony or poetic justice? At this point, does it matter?
On the 26th October 1605, a letter was delivered to William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle; which has famously been known as the Monteagle Letter. This letter was a warning about the conspiracy, but the author has remained a mystery. A suspect is Tresham, because he was Parker’s brother-in-law, however Parker was a suspect also. Regardless of the author’s identity, the letter was shown to several people, before making its way to King James on the 1st November, and well, he was not happy.
James ordered the Houses of Parliament to be searched for any shenanigans on the 4th November; though at the same time, the conspirators were finalising the last details about the plan. Fawkes was going to light the fuse at an agreed time, while others were getting ready to kidnap Princess Elizabeth. What could go wrong?
After the first search of the buildings, Fawkes was discovered with firewood, within the undercroft. Mixing lies with the truth, Fawkes explained that the firewood belonged to Thomas Percy. Fawkes was let go and the report was given to the King James, whom demanded the buildings be searched for a second time.
The second search proved to be more successful, because Fawkes was discovered again in the undercroft, later that night. He had a lantern, coal, firewood, and the barrels of gunpowder; so he was quickly arrested and on the morning of 5th November, he was brought before the King. The rest of the conspirators heard of Fawkes’ arrest fled and regrouped outside of London.
Having going by the alias of “John Johnson,” Fawkes was interrogated and eventually tortured. He had insisted that he was working alone, but after being tortured, Fawkes confessed to the entire plot. The authorities had already a few leads on the conspirators and armed with Fawkes’ confession, they started to seek them out as fast as possible.
Some of the conspirators had fled, while others were held up at Holbeche House, Staffordshire. It was there where someone had the smart idea to dry some of the wet gunpowder they had, in front of an open fire. You can guess what happened, because the gunpowder exploded. After that apocalyptic clown show, more conspirators fled. There was only Thomas Wintour, Grant, Rookwood, Percy, Catesby and the Wright brothers left now.
On the morning of 8th November, 200 men surrounded the house and opened fire. According to the report, several conspirators were killed, with Thomas Wintour, Rookwood, Grant being arrested. Eventually the remaining conspirators were found, arrested and put on trial.
These are the fates of the 13 Gunpowder Plot conspirators:
Thomas Bates: Died on 30th January 1606, after being hanged, drawn and quartered in London.
Sir Everard Digby: Died on 30th January 1606, after being hanged, drawn and quartered in London.
John Grant: Died on 30th January 1606, after being hanged, drawn and quartered in London.
Robert Keyes: Died on 31st January 1606, after being hanged, drawn and quartered in London.
Thomas Percy: Killed on 8th November 1605, after being shot at Holbeche House. His body was later exhumed and decapitated. with his head put on a spike outside Parliament.
Ambrose Rookwood: Died on 31st January 1606, after being hanged, drawn and quartered in London.
Francis Tresham: Died from natural causes, on 23th December 1605, in the Tower of London.
Robert Wintour: Died on 30th January 1606, after being hanged, drawn and quartered in London.
Thomas Wintour: Died on 31st January 1606, after being hanged, drawn and quartered in London.
Christopher Wright: Killed on 8th November 1605, after being shot at Holbeche House.
John Wright: Killed on 8th November 1605, after being shot at Holbeche House.
So what happened to the most famous of all the Gunpowder Plot conspirators, Guy Fawkes?
Guy Fawkes: Died on 31st January 1606 in London, after breaking his neck, right before the execution. His body was still drawn and quartered though.
And that just leaves the mastermind behind it all; what happened to Robert Catesby?
Robert Catesby: Killed on 8th November 1605, after being shot at Holbeche House. His body was later exhumed and decapitated. with his head put on a spike outside Parliament.
Their legacy is Fireworks Night, Bonfire Night, or just Guy Fawkes Night; which is celebrated in various countries around the world, including here in New Zealand. But going back to the beginning of this blog, this is the victory I was talking about. Even though the 13 Gunpowder Plot conspirators tried to commit regicide and failed, they did end up changing the world. 417 years later and we still remember their names.
Thanks for sticking with me and subscribing to my weekly editions of verbal diarrhea, I appreciate it. Alright that’s it for me, go and walk your dog, read some banned books, and I’ll see you next week.
SOME GEEK TOLD ME 
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