Remember, Remember the 5th of November
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot
When the Protestant King James I took the throne on July 25, 1603, Catholics unsuccessfully petitioned him for toleration as they had been previously persecuted and subject to arbitrary laws under Queen Elizabeth I. Denied a change, 14 English Catholic men hatched a plan assassinate the king by blowing up the Houses of Parliament during the state opening of Parliament in hopes to replace him with his daughter
An anonymous letter sent to the William Parker, warned him to avoid the House of Parliament. The letter (possibly sent by Francis Tresham), was made public leading to a search of Westminster Palace on November 5th.
When the plan failed, members of the public celebrated by lighting bonfires around London. His body was subsequently quartered, and his head was placed on a spike above the London Bridge’s stone gatehouse as a warning to others.
Guy Fawkes day, sometimes called Bonfire Night is celebrated on November 5th, with the lighting of bonfires and even Guy Fawkes in effigy.
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