Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot

Timeline

1532-1539: The Break of Rome

1547: Protestantism strenghed

1553-58: Catholism makes a Comeback

1558: Protestantism reintroduced

1567: Protestantism repressed

1568: Queen of Scots expelled

1570: The Pope excommunicates Elizabeth

24-30. August 1572: Protestants massacred in France

1581: Act of Obedience

1585: Troops in Netherlands

1586: Mary executed

1588: The Spanish Armada

1601-1602: Thomas Winter goes to Spain to get military support

24. March 1603: Elizabeth 1 dies

1604: The Plot is hatched

Feb-Jul 1605: More members join the plotters in March 25; The Parliament had is break
until 3 of November.

20 July 1605: More gunpowder shipped

14 October 1605: Francis Tresham is now a member of the plotters in the same periode
Lord Monteagle sent the Black Letter also known as the Monteagle Letter to warn the
Parliament about the plot.

31. October 1605: The King returns to England

1 & 2 November 1605: Francis Tresham is accused of beeing an informant

4. November 1605: Percy dines with the Earl of Northumberland

5. November 1605: Catholic gentry is gathered to hunt and at the same time Guy Fawkes
is setting up the gunpowder under the parliament and at the same day arrested

6. November 1605: Proclamation issued for apprehension of Thomas Percy

7. November 1605: Proclamation declaring the rebels as traitors. Guy Fawkes make his
confessions in the Tower of London under torture.

8. November 1605: Local military force attack at Holbeach: Catesby, Percy and the
Wright brothers are killed and the surviving captured.

9. November 1605: Opening of the Parliament, James speech describes the plot

23. December 1605: Francis Tresham dies in the Tower of London of natural causes

15. January 1606: Proclamation issued to arrest Henry Garnet

21. January 1606: Parliament reassembles

27. January 1606: Plotters on trial

30. January 1606: Digby, Roberts, Robert Winter, Grant and Bate executed in St. Pauls
Churchyard

31. January 1606: Fawkes, Rockwood, Thomas Winter and Keys executed in Old Palace
Yard in Westminister

12. February 1606: Garnet arrives as a prisoner in London

28. March 1606: Guildhall Trail: Garnet is found guilty

3. May 1606: Garnet executed, John Gerard escapes from England

This is a story about men that belived in their cause, in a world full of tratitors and
unsertanty. It all began after the defeat ofthe Sapnish aramada. A new century was ahead
and the century brouhgt England a new crown King James I of Scotland.
Under his rule many where unpleasead and England was under a dark cape. At that time
it was the security of the state that was the 1. priority. The catholics where a major threat
and they where rebelling. This leads us to Guy Fawkes, rembered to be Englands greatest
criminal yet he hasen't done a thing. Fawkes was not the conspiritator or a man of
desperate fanatics, but one thing he knew was gunpowder and that was the most crucial in
the plot.

The plotters where Robert Catesby, Tom Winter(Wintour), Jack Wright and Guy Fawkes.
They where a manipulated of the same man The Earl of Salisbury.

Guy Fawkes early life

Guy Fawkes was born in York in 1570. He was born between High Petergate and
Stonegate. Edward and Edith Fawkes raised him. His mother was a catholic and his father
a protestant. Guy was later baptized in St. Michael-le-Belfrey close to where he lived.
When Guy was 8 years old his father died and his mother married a catholic. His catholic
influence became strong when he attended St. Peters in York. Jack and Cristopher Wright,
brothers of Guy also attended this school and later became his companions in the plot.

St. Peters school still exist today, but Guy Fawkes is not a rolemodel for the children
attending the school at any surcumstanses because his not an ideal rolemodel.
After converting to catholicsm he went to the army in early 1590s where he helped the
Dutch protestants from the spanish army. He changed his name to a spanish style Guido
and was rewared by Sir William Stanley who had served under Elizabeth 1 and now was
an officer. It was in this post he learned gunpowder ignition and here he learned to setting
and firing a "slow train".

As a grown up he was tall, powerfull built and has a thick reddish beard, a fashionably
flowing moustache and a bushy beard. People in his time described him as a courageous,
cheerful and intelligent. In the army he had technical skills so he was in the technical staff
helping the army in foreign land. He had just one big problem, he was a great fanatic of
the catholic and he saw himself as God's warrior(crusader). In the English land he wasn't
alone because the catholics had been depressed under the new king.
The veteran soldier Welshman Hugh Owen, introduced Fawkes to Thomas Wintour after
the war, in 1604 he was on his way to Robert Catesby who was the leader of the whole
plot.

The plot

A catholic fanatic and activist named Robert Catesby. He was known already to be the
man coloborating with the Earl of Essex to overthrow Elizabeth I. The next throne wasnt
any better, he promised that the Roman Catholics should gain their laws but didnt hold
that promise when he took the position as king. When the war ended between England
and Spain it got worse for Catesby who wanted help from Spain to overthrow the king.
Now Catesby had the plot in his hands.
Instead of getting help from the spanish, he could make an group of Roman Catholics but
what was the plan, the plan for how it was going to happend did come up for Catesby in
1604 when he found out that he could blew the Parliament building with gunpowder -
that would wipe out the british establishment, this ment that bouth catholics and
protestants would die.

Soon he got companions, his companions where Thomas Wintour, Jack Wright and
Thomas Percy. He was passionate about his great plan and told propaganda to make them
accept the thruth that the Roman Catholics where doomed under this rule.
He was a natural leader, but also a leader who had failed before. His first failure did cost
him the estate in Chasteton in Oxfordshire and he had little money. Wintour was the
cousin of Catesby and the other members where related to eachother because they all lead
back to a close-knit Midlands family. After a time, Flanders a contact of Wintour
contacted Guy Fawkes that really wasnt part of this family, but where an outsider. He was
a man without any family connections and easy to ge in this group because he belived in
the value of Roman Catholics and saw himself as a crusader.

To make it more dramatic, the swords of every member of the gang had the writing of
passion of the christ on their sword and not to make it better but worse, their set their
names on the roll where the grusome people that fought religion through high violence.
One strange thing was that Catesby didnt come from a poor background. He was a
gentleman born into a rich family, he handled a sword and was good looking.

Countdown Zero Hour

Guy Fawkes joined Catesby the Sunday 20 May 1604. The meeting was holding in the
meeting place The Duck and Drake in London. It was here Catesby said the facts to his
companions.
It was ment that the gunpowder should be hidden in a tunnel dug beneath the Parliament
building. The Parliament was going to be blown up the 5th of November that was the
opening day. Fawkes was the one who was agniting the gunpowder since he had the
experience for gunpowder use in the army.
The fuse was slow burning and let him escape down to the Themes, when the king and
parliament was wiped out it was time to start a armed revolt a armed revolt in the
Midlands. The kings youngest daughter Elizabeth was supponsingly to be a puppet king
for the catholics after being kidnapped.

Wintour was already doubting about what was going to happend to them if they got
caught. Catesby did not hear on his fellow conspirator and went on with his work. At the
same time Thomas Percy was happy about the sucess this plot would have for the
catholics. Father John Gerreard, an completely inoccent man was convicted later on
because he held a mass in the other room that they implied he was a member of the plot.
It isnt a mystery how the gunpowder came, it was transported by the docks and led to the
house in Lambeth. Percy who was at that time a pensioned gentleman lived near
Westminister in a cottage. Now the conspirators had to build a tunnel to the palace. They
had to work fast, but a plague in the winter of 1604 deliad the date to November 5th of
1605. They needed more recruits because of lack of money so Kit Wright, Robert Keyes,
Thomas Bates, Robert Winter, John Grant, Ambrose Rockwood, Sir Edward Digby and
Francis Tresham joined. The group of conspirators where almost thirteen that wasnt a
lucky number. They where constantly fear of beeing noticed by their work.

In the spring 1605, the walls where crashing down in the tunnel they where going to build
so they stopped their work and moved to the cellar beneath the parliament. They shipped
a stunning 20 more barrels of gunpowder that was brought to the cellar and hidden
beneath stones and other objects to disguise the barrels. It is said that Robert Cecil, Earl
of Salisbury did make that cellar free so he could catch them before the plot was
made(pre-crime).

Moral Dilemma

Many would die of this plot happend, many of their own and maby people that didnt do
anything against them. This is how they thinked at that time. Lord Monteagle would have
died in the plot that was brother of Francis Tresham. Thomas Percy would also loose one
of his closest the employer Lord of Northumberland.
At first they had a plan without knowing, now the fact that they was willing to kill their
own was a terrible headache for Robert Catesy that was the plot leader. He maybe was
cold, but as cold minded as he was he was willing to say a important thing to Henry
Garnet and asked the crucial question is it violebce if you kill innocent people. Catesby
later jepordaised his own leadership to Father Oswald Teismond. Father Oswald told this
to Garnet and Garnet was afraid of the result but at the same time he could not say a
word. He said to himself that he wished God never had made a thing called gunpowder
treason.

On October 26. 1605 you can ask yourself is this real or is this only hate. The Parliament
was going to open in the 5. November 1605. Thomas Ward a servant of Lord Montegle
gave him a letter that did warn him to attend him to come to the Parliament. He wrote in
clear words "as they shall recive a terrible blow" Monteagle gave this to Earl of Salisbury
Robert Cecil that was head of secuirty. This was a terrible blow for the hole planning of
the plot and now the plotters was in a hard situation.

Francis Tresham was now a suspect in the conspiration group only because the same
informant that sent the letter to Lord Monteagle informed Catesby. Now a mole had make
another sinner, but Tresham did gave a clear message to Catesby that he was innocent.
Many say that Lord Monteagle did write that letter in another handwriting since he was
before invold with the Essex Religion. So many today ask the same question would
Monteagle clean his background to get a new beginning and become richer. Salisbury had
informants in the catholic religion and this was one of the key elements of clearing the
plot.

End for the catholic fanatics?

Now the bricks had come together and Earl of Salisbury could now catch the plotters in
the location that the informants gave to him. The plotters had lost their motivation and
from the day of the letter it wasnt so many enthusiast left.
Catesby was still standing tall and he wasnt easily stopped by the state. The plot was not
to quit and he know that maybe it was all over.

We all know that now was the time that the plotters could back out but it had become
more than an idea it had become their life and they couldnt sacrefice all they worked for
it. Now Sir Edward Digby and his companions was setting an uprising in the Midlands.
The Midland families was gathered to hunt and was ready to win their rights back. At the
same time other catholics saw this a dumb thing to do and was against it.
In November 5. 1605 Catesby and the others where lurking around unkowing of what
that was going to happend to Fawkes. Fawkes had already prepeared from 3 of November
and now he was setting the gunpowder in the right position so he could escape from the
crime scene and go from Flanders there a ship was waiting for him.

James was a secure man, he was only thinking of how to get this done with. He didnt
want to get blown up like his father Lord Darnley. When the plot did come to his ears he
contacted Earl of Salisbury that now had the leadership of tracking, searching and kill the
plotters if it was nessary to be loyal to the king. Sir Thomas Knevett, a Justice keeper of
the Westminister did with is Yeomen find a tall man that was doing his job, that man was
Guy Fawkes. He was dressed up in a tall hat and that made he even more easy target. Guy
was holding a lantern and matches that was made to egnite the scene. This 5. of
November Guy was captured and arrested. He was emmeditly questioned and he gave a
false name, the name John Johnson. Later the Clerk Ralph Evans annoced that John
Johnson that was the servant of Thomas Percy had placed 36 barrels of gunpowder to
blow up the Parliament and King.

It wasthe greates terror threat at that time that had failed. The plotters failed and now Guy
Fawkes was tortured in the Tower of London. People was giving eachother rumours and
soon all of London did know the scandal. Catesby asnd his gang fled to the Midlands
disapinted of the loss of Guy. The final backflash came to Catesby when he saw Winter
exited of the failure of the plot. Now catholics where the sinners and harder laws came
over them and it led to the downfall of their religion but not the least the whole meaning
was that catholics was going to get their laws. It never happend and they where doomed
to fail.

Torture, torture

When Fawkes where arrested and driven to the Tower, Catesby did escape with his
friends. Catesby arriaved in the Midlands in the 7. November. They played with
gunpowder and an explosion did happend and Catesby and Rockwood got injured and
John Graqnt got blind.