| Thursday, 7th August 2008 |
the opening of Parliament in London, England would be the moment when the
King, the great Lords and the Commons would all be gathered under the one roof.
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The idea was simplicity itself.
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The idea was simplicity itself, if you were going to blow up the British power
base it was the ideal time to do it (and to a greater or lesser extent remains
true to this day).
James I was not the most liked Monarch we have ever had and having passed some
pretty tough Anti-Catholic Laws had made plenty of powerful enemies.
the
conspirators
The most famous of the Gunpowder Plot crew is Guy Fawkes, who was a solider
of fortune. Who had been born a Protestant but became a Roman Catholic.
Although often painted as something of a fool this is not the whole story.
The original brains behind the idea was Robert Catesby, a Warwickshire country
gentleman.
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| Liebig, Parliament
Buildings [1904] |
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He told his cousin, Thomas Winter and his friends, Thomas Percy and John Wright
of his scheme.
Then further plotters were brought into the idea amongst them Sir Everard Digby.
the
plan
The plan of blowing up the Parliament building was made somewhat easier by
the fact you could rent the cellars below the building itself and this they
did.
In that room they stored 36 barrels of gunpowder which they had purchased quite
legally.
the
error
The authorities suspected nothing until one of the plotters (Francis Tresham)
wrote to a relative, Lord Monteagle suggesting going to the opening might be
a bad idea.
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The authorities suspected nothing...
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At this point the plot was exposed and early in November 5th, Guy Fawkes was
arrested as he emerged from the cellar.
The plan had been he alone would set the charges off and then flee to Flanders.
When he was caught the fuses were found on his person and the gunpowder barrels
and lighted lantern were discovered in the cellar.
When asked why he was blowing the place up he answered 'To blow the Scots back
again to Scotland.' making reference to James I actually having started out
as James VI of Scotland but recruited to the English throne.
the
consequence
Fawkes was tortured on the rack but it took a long time to break him (literally).
When he signed his confession it was clear there were not too many working bones
in his body.
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...it was a considerable time before
he gave them the names of the fellow conspirators.
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Having confessed his own guilt it was a considerable time before he gave them
the names of the fellow conspirators.
In fact it was on the third day in the notorious lower room of the white tower.
He had believed this was ample time for his friends to escape the country.
Having revealed those names the cast majority were killed in the act of being
arrested.
There were some very shady types amongst the plotters and all manner of secret
service types which can give conspiracy theorists sleepless nights.
Although we celebrate the failure of the plot in Great Britain with the Bonfire
Night celebrations which culminate in the burning of an effigy (Guy Fawkes)
he was actually hanged on Jan 31, 1606.
This was a grisly affair.
The last to be executed the scaffold was still slipper with the blookd of the
conspirators which had gone before.
Crippled from the rack ordeal he had to be carried to the scaffold but Fawkes
refused to be carried by the steps and so painfully dragged himself to the hangman.
Once there the idea was to hang him by the neck until unconcious at which point
he would be cut down and the still alive dis-embowled.
Fawkes though had one last reserve of strength and resource and once the noose
was about his neck launched himself from the scaffold breaking his own neck.
The dis-embowling went ahead but Fawkes no longer cared.
Now the vaults of Parliament are searched before the opening of every session.
Not because of the Gunpowder Plot (that was not enough to concern them) but
because of the Popish Plot of 1678.
