betrayal and betrayal

History is full of treacherous and deceitful acts committed by ruthless men and women. In desperate times there have always been those who conspire to alter the course of history. Some have been successful, while others have failed. The Gunpowder Plot is one of those efforts by a few conspirators that would have changed the course of history in England some 400 years ago. The history books, though many omit certain facts, evade so many details and even stretch the truth a bit. But, when we hear about the cunning and calculating measures taken by some of history’s most infamous characters, the people who could have played a pivotal role in altering the course of history, the Gunpowder Plot is one of those. examples. Next November 5th is the anniversary of a plot so amazing that the history of England would have been rewritten had it been successful. Yet little is mentioned here in the United States about what happened on November 5 more than 400 years ago in jolly England.

Questions about the events that led to the nearly successful terrorist attack on the King of England and Parliament continue to fascinate historians today. One is how could a small group of conspirators who had their own misgivings about each other come together and come so close to overthrowing the entire government of England? However, the Gunpowder Plot came within inches of destroying the entire fabric of monarchy, church and state in what would have been the largest massive explosion in England up to that time. Hollywood couldn’t have written a better script. Perhaps the Gunpowder Plot was used as the basis for the recent TV show Designated Survivor. The only twist is that the conspirators achieved Designated Survivor by blowing up the Capital. And I bet some would like to blow up the Trump administration today. This considering all the accusations surrounding the present administration. It would be hard not to consider the likelihood of a plot much like the gunpowder plot. A plot to eradicate an administration that has turned into a bad soap opera from the start. In any case, the fact is that a small group of men came together to deal a fatal blow to a government that continued to persecute those who practiced the Catholic religion.

We have to remember what led up to that fateful night of November 5, 1605. We have to go back to 1533 when Henry VIII took control of the English church only because the Pope at the time refused to grant Henry VIII a divorce. With the Catholic religion out of favor with the King was the beginning of several decades of religious tensions in England. This is a time when English Catholics struggled in a society that was dominated by the now separate and increasingly powerful Protestant Church of England. When Elizabeth I became queen, she introduced the Religious Settlement of Elizabeth. This required anyone appointed to public office to swear allegiance to the monarch as head of state and of the Church. This was probably the real beginning of a growing number of Catholic uprisings against Protestants due to Pope Pius V excommunicating the Queen.

In 1603 came the end of an era when Queen Elizabeth died. Catholics for more than 33 years suffered severe persecution. Since she was excommunicated, many Catholics were now considered enemies of the state. And, they were severely punished if they were caught practicing their faith. His hope was reinvigorated when James I ascended the English throne after Queens’s death. For a short time James, whose own wife was a Catholic, relaxed the fines and persecution. But, as time passed, the growing number of Catholics began to worry the king. It did not help when a Catholic plot to overthrow the King was discovered. As a result, James became increasingly antagonistic towards all Catholics. As the number of Catholics increased, so did tensions between the king and openly practicing Catholics.

In 1604, at the Hampton Court Conference, it was King James who turned around the growing number of practicing Catholics when he decreed that all priests and Jesuits be expelled and finished. Apparently, afterwards, a certain Robert Catesby, who was a devout Catholic whose own father had been imprisoned for harboring a priest, had to drop out of school to avoid taking the Protestant oath now mandated by the king. From then on he began recruiting this small group of would-be conspirators. History tells us that in May 1604 Thomas Wintour, Jack Wright and Thomas Percy joined Catesby at Strand England. They were joined by Guy Fawkes, who had been serving in the Spanish Army. This was the beginning of the Gunpowder Plot. the conspiracy plot to blow up Parliament.

The night of October 26 became the first harbinger that the plot was going to be foiled. An anonymous letter sent to Lord Monteagle warned against opening Parliament on 5 November. Either out of overconfidence or sheer lack of concern at Lord Monteagle’s warning that he knew of his plan, they went ahead. The first suspicion that something was going to happen was when Monteagle sent Salisbury to search the cellar below the House of Lords, where they found large barrels of gunpowder. Around midnight, Guy Fawkes was found hiding. The plot was foiled at the last minute.

Questions still arise today about how a small group of conspirators could hope to overthrow the government when so many previous conspiracies failed. However, the Gunpowder Plot came just inches away from dismembering the entire structure of the English monarchy. So on November 5 we remember one of England’s most notorious villains or one of its most famous heroes. that depends on the ideological inclination of each one. Some still say that Guy Fawkes was the last man to enter parliament with honest intentions.

Could a Gunpowder Plot happen today here in the United States? It could be possible considering the mood of much of the public. A plot to right the wrongs of a political system that has become too corrupt and ineffective to improve the quality of life for all. Just think if Guy Fawkes is successful, what would have been the course of history. It would be wise to remember Guy Fawkes Day on November 5.

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