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November 5th marks the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, a conspiracy to blow up the English Parliament and King James I in 1605. On that day, the king prepared to open Parliament.

The unfortunate conspirator Fawkes appears before his intended victim.

Uprising of English Catholics

It was intended to be the beginning of a great uprising of English Catholics, who were distressed by the increased severity of penal laws against the practice of their religion. The conspirators, who began plotting early in 1604, expanded their number to a point where secrecy was impossible.

The group included Robert Catesby, John Wright, and Thomas Winter, the originators, Christopher Wright, Robert Winter, Robert Keyes, Guy Fawkes, a soldier who had been serving in Flanders, Thomas Percy, John Grant, Sir Everard Digby, Francis Tresham, Ambrose Rookwood, and Thomas Bates.

Brought to Light by Anonymous Letter

Percy hired a cellar under the House of Lords, in which 36 barrels of gunpowder, overlaid with iron bars and firewood, were secretly stored. The conspiracy was brought to light through a mysterious letter received by Lord Monteagle, a brother-in-law of Tresham, on October 26, urging him not to attend Parliament on the opening day.

The 1st earl of Salisbury and others, to whom the plot was made known, took steps leading to the discovery of the materials and the arrest of Fawkes as he entered the cellar. Other conspirators, overtaken in flight or seized afterward, were killed outright, imprisoned, or executed.

Fireworks, Bonfires in England

Among those executed was Henry Garnett, the superior of the English Jesuits, who had known of the conspiracy. While the plot was the work of a small number of men, it provoked hostility against all English Catholics and led to an increase in the harshness of laws against them. Guy Fawkes Day, November 5, is still celebrated in England with fireworks and bonfires, on which effigies of the conspirator are burned.

Other links for the history of Guy Fawkes Day:

http://www.bonefire.org/guy/

http://www.innotts.co.uk/asperges/fawkes/

http://www.guy-fawkes.com/history.html

http://www.billpetro.com/HolidayHistory/hol/guy.html

and a BBC vesion:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A199488

Okay that should keep you busy reading for awhile.

Amusing Note:
Until 1959 it was illegal not to celebrate the date of Guy Fawkes arrest in England.