In 1605, thirteen young men planned
to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Among them was Guy Fawkes,
Britain's most notorious traitor.
After Queen Elizabeth I died in
1603, English Catholics who had been persecuted under her rule had
hoped that her successor, James I, would be more tolerant of their
religion. James I had, after all, had a Catholic mother.
Unfortunately, James did not turn out to be more tolerant than
Elizabeth and a number of young men, 13 to be exact, decided that
violent action was the
answer.
A small group took shape, under the leadership of
Robert Catesby. Catesby felt that violent action was warranted.
Indeed, the thing to do was to blow up the Houses of Parliament. In
doing so, they would kill the King, maybe even the Prince of Wales,
and the Members of Parliament who were making life difficult for
the Catholics. Today these conspirators would be known as
extremists, or terrorists.
To carry out their plan,
the conspirators
got hold of 36 barrels of gunpowder - and stored them in a cellar,
just under the House of Lords.
But as the group worked on the plot, it became clear
that innocent people would be hurt or killed in the attack,
including some people who even fought for more rights for
Catholics. Some of the plotters started having second thoughts. One
of the group members even sent an anonymous letter warning his
friend, Lord Monteagle, to stay away from the Parliament on
November 5th. Was the letter real?
The warning letter reached the King, and the King's
forces made plans to stop the conspirators.
Guy Fawkes,
who was in the cellar of the parliament with the 36 barrels of
gunpowder when the authorities stormed it in the early hours of
November 5th, was caught, tortured and executed.
It's unclear if the conspirators would ever have been
able to pull off their plan to blow up the Parliament even if they
had not been betrayed. Some have suggested that the gunpowder
itself was so old as to be useless. Since Guy Fawkes and the other
conspirators got caught before trying to ignite the powder, we'll
never know for certain.
Even for the period which was notoriously unstable,
the Gunpowder Plot struck a very profound chord for the people of
England. In fact, even today, the reigning monarch only enters the
Parliament once a year, on what is called "the State Opening of
Parliament". Prior to the Opening, and according to custom, the
Yeomen of the Guard search the cellars of the Palace of
Westminster. Nowadays, the Queen and Parliament still observe
this
tradition.
On the very night that the Gunpowder Plot was foiled,
on November 5th, 1605, bonfires were set alight to celebrate the
safety of the King. Since then, November 5th has become known as
Bonfire Night. The
event is commemorated every year with fireworks and burning
effigies of Guy Fawkes on a bonfire.
Some of the English have been known to wonder, in a
tongue in cheek kind of way, whether they are celebrating Fawkes'
execution or honoring his attempt to do away with the
government.
The tradition of Guy Fawkes-related bonfires actually
began the very same year as the failed coup. The Plot was foiled in
the night between the 4th and 5th of November 1605. Already on the
5th, agitated Londoners who knew little more than that their King
had been saved, joyfully lit bonfires in thanksgiving. As years
progressed, however, the ritual became more
elaborate.
Soon, people began placing effigies onto bonfires,
and fireworks were added to the celebrations. Effigies of Guy
Fawkes, and sometimes those of the Pope, graced the pyres. Still
today, some communities throw dummies of both Guy Fawkes and the
Pope on the bonfire (and even those of a contemporary politician or
two), although the gesture is seen by most as a quirky tradition,
rather than an expression of hostility towards the
Pope.
Preparations for Bonfire Night celebrations include
making a dummy of Guy Fawkes, which is called "the Guy". Some
children even keep up an old tradition of walking in the streets,
carrying "the Guy" they have just made, and beg passersby for "a
penny for the Guy." The kids use the money to buy fireworks for the
evening festivities.
On the night itself, Guy is placed on top of the
bonfire, which is then set alight; and fireworks displays fill the
sky.
The extent of the celebrations and the size of the
bonfire varies from one community to the next. Lewes, in the South
East of England, is famous for its Bonfire Night festivities and
consistently attracts thousands of people each year to
participate.
Bonfire Night is not only celebrated in Britain. The
tradition crossed the oceans and established itself in the British
colonies during the centuries. It was actively celebrated in New
England as "Pope Day" as late as the 18th century. Today, November
5th bonfires still light up in far out places like New Zealand and
Newfoundland in Canada.