Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Happy Guy Fawkes Day !


Its not everyday that someone tries to blow up Parliament and kill the King! (I suppose he hid the gun powder under his hat)

The Gunpowder Plot was organized by Robert Talshem, a Catholic Englishman attempting to avenge his father’s persecution by Queen Elizabeth I for not becoming a member of the Church of England.

Guy Fawkes aided this event by planting barrels of gunpowder beneath the Houses of Parliament the night before Nov. 5, 1605. After another member of the Catholic group alerted a relative in Parliament of the plot, the tunnels under the building were searched and Fawkes was found lurking around the barrels of powder.

They planned to blow up Parliament on that day because King James I was present, overseeing the government body’s affairs and, with him and the Anglican government gone, it was hoped a new Catholic government could be established.

Fawkes was tortured after he was arrested until he revealed all of his fellow conspirators in the scheme. They were all executed for their roles in the attempt. While making his way up to the deck where he was to be hanged, Fawkes jumped from a ladder to his death.

England enforced a holiday to remember the events of Nov. 5, 1605 the following year to impose a view of Catholic inferiority and Anglican supremacy.

http://www.easternecho.com/content/guy-fawkes-day-significance-november-5th-0

2 comments:

Robert Christian said...

Thanks for posting this. I remember reading about Guy Fawkes. I knew he had a day and that they do some interesting things to celebrate it. I'll have to read more.

Polilla said...

Another point of view: Guy Fawkes Day