The History
On November 5th 1605, a group of 13 men plotted to blow up Parliament. Queen Elizabeth I had died two years before and having no children, she was succeeded by her only sister Mary I’s son James I. His mother having been a Catholic, the people of England hoped that James would be more tolerant of the religious divide that the country had seen throughout the reign of the Tudors.
The thirteen men involved were Catholics, and it was their intention to blow up Parliament, King James, The Prince of Wales and the Parliamentarians who were supporting the anti-Catholic regime. The most famous of these men is Guy Fawkes, the only man to have been caught red-handed, in the cellar of the House of Lords with 36 barrels of gunpowder.
Guy, or ‘Guido’, Fawkes is the most notorious of the Gunpowder Plotters, probably because he was the one discovered at the scene, however it was a fellow called Robert Catesby who led the group of men. Guy was the only conspirator held for the next two days, charged with the involvement in the ‘Powder Treason’, as it was then known. His fellow ‘plotters’ were captured trying to escape from London, they surrendered themselves to try to avoid a harsh punishment or were killed in a siege to find them. The surviving accomplices were tortured and forced to confess, some giving rather absurd and unreliable confessions. None of them escaped with their lives; those who didn’t die in prison from torture or sickness were hung drawn and quartered in March 1607. Their executions were made public so as to serve as a deterrent to potential traitors.
Bonfire Night Traditions
Bonfires were lit thought the entire country, on the very same day in 1605, to celebrate and give thanks for the survival of King James I.
Guy Fawkes
Effigies of Guy Fawkes have been symbolically made by children and thrown onto the lit pyre. Today, children still make ‘Guys’ and wheel him towards the fire asking passers by for “a penny for the guy”, using the money collected to buy fireworks to celebrate this traditional festival.
Fireworks
Bonfire Night usually culminates in a display of fireworks. The size of these events depends on the involvement of local communities, as Bonfire or Firework Parties to celebrate this date are usually either very large well-organised events or a more simplistic garden party!
