In early 17th-century England, there was significant tension between Protestants and Catholics. King James was Protestant, and Catholics faced persecution, including restrictions on practicing their faith.  A group of Catholic conspirators, led by Robert Catesby, hatched a plan to kill the king, overthrow the government, and install a Catholic monarch. They planned to do this by blowing up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament, which the King and other prominent figures would attend.

Guy Fawkes, a former soldier with explosives experience, was tasked with overseeing the gunpowder. The conspirators had rented a cellar beneath the House of Lords and filled it with 36 barrels of gunpowder.

On October 26, 1605, an anonymous letter warning of the plot reached Lord Monteagle, a Catholic peer. Authorities investigated, and on the night of November 4th, Guy Fawkes was discovered in the cellar with the explosives. He was arrested and tortured, leading him to reveal the names of his co-conspirators.  Fawkes and several of his fellow conspirators were tried, convicted of treason, and executed. The failure of the Gunpowder Plot was celebrated by the king and Parliament, and an annual day of thanksgiving was declared for November 5th.

In the years following the failed plot, November 5th was celebrated with bonfires, fireworks, and church services thanking God for the king’s safety, however, I believe that they were misled.  People would burn effigies of Guy Fawkes on bonfires as a symbolic punishment, not realising that the King was oppressing the people and they had their rights under Magna Carta.  This ‘celebration’ was a form of control, to put fear into the people that if they acted against the King they would lose their lives.  Having an annual day of commemoration meant that this idea remained in the minds of the people.

Little did the people know about the treason being committed by the government against the people.  Perhaps it would be better remembered as an uprising against the tyrannical King, in the same way the people stood up to King John.  This resulted in Magna Carta 1215, which is our constitutional document, which protects the rights of the people.  This document has been ignored by successive governments as they ride roughshod over the people charging excessive taxes and bringing in more control.

Over time, children began creating effigies or “Guys” out of old clothes, which they would parade around town asking for “a penny for the Guy.” This tradition evolved into a form of trick-or-treating in some areas.  While the political and religious significance has faded, the night is enjoyed as a fun, social tradition with large firework displays. Some communities still burn “Guys” as a nod to history, though the practice has become less common.

The image of Guy Fawkes has come to represent rebellion and protest in popular culture. The 1980s graphic novel and 2005 film V for Vendetta portrayed Fawkes as a symbol against tyranny, inspiring protest movements worldwide to adopt the iconic Guy Fawkes mask.  This was performed publicly in 2020, in the London Million Mask March.

We know that there are more ways than gunpowder to bring down our politicians.

Here is a contemporary rap celebrating the gunpowder plot:

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