Guy Fawkes Day marks 1605 plot to blow up Parliament
The gist
Guy Fawkes was arrested under Parliament with 36 barrels of gunpowder on Nov 5, 1605.
Britain still marks the foiled plot with bonfires, fireworks and burned effigies.
How it unfolded
- Nov 5, 1605Guy Fawkes was arrested in the early hours after being found in a House of Lords cellar beneath Parliament with 36 barrels of gunpowder.
- Nov 1606The first official Gunpowder Treason Day was held, after the Observance of 5th November Act ordered prayers and church bells every year.
- Nov 5, 1745A Boston notebook entry copied from the Boston Evening-Post described 'Two Popes were made & carried thro the streets in the evening' and clashes between North End and South End crowds on Pope's Day.
Key terms
- Gunpowder Plot
- Failed 1605 attempt by English Catholics led by Robert Catesby to kill King James I by blowing up Parliament.
- Observance of 5th November Act
- English act of Parliament passed in 1606 making 5 November an annual day of thanksgiving after the Gunpowder Plot.
- effigies
- A sculptural representation, often life-size, of a person or figure, used for symbolic punishment or burning in traditions.
Source: Wikipedia