[Alex Murphy]

Fawkes was born a Protestant but converted to Catholicism at a time when Catholics were persecuted in England. He hoped to incite the country to revolution in an attempt to gain equal (or better) recognition for Catholics.

In 1605, 13 young men planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament in what is now called "the Gunpowder Plot". The Gunpowder Plot came about after Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603. English Catholics, who had been persecuted under her rule, were bitterly disappointed when her successor, James I, who had a Catholic mother, failed to be more tolerant of their religion. Their leader Robert Catesby decided to blow up the Houses of Parliament, hoping to kill the King, the Prince of Wales, and the MPs who were making life difficult for Catholics. Among 13 young men was Guy Fawkes, Britain's most notorious traitor and Roman Catholic convert. He was arrested in Parliament's cellar with 36 barrels of gunpowder. Fawkes was tried, convicted, and executed for treason.

Even now, four hundred years later, the reigning monarch only enters the Parliament once a year for the State Opening of Parliament. And before the opening, according to custom, the Yeomen of the Guard searches the cellars of the Palace of Westminster.

Related threads:
Guy Fawkes in the U.S.
Guy Fawkes’ Day: The significance of November 5th
Jumping off the scaffold [Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot]
‘Master Illusionist’ (Tower of London Is Hallowed for the Blood St. Nicholas Owen Spilled There)
Book bound in skin of executed Jesuit to be auctioned in England
Royal succession law change bid fails
The Act of Settlement is just fine [as a Catholic, this writer is happy with it]
FR keyword: guyfawkes

[Doogle]

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

[Vanders9]

Darn straight! To the fire with the traitor!

[GeronL]

They burn him in effigy and name a Holiday after him??

Are they bi-polar or something?

[randog]

Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated by burning effigies of Fawkes in a communal bonfire, and by setting off Fireworks.

Sounds like some good, honest fun. Don't forget the beer!

[The Sons of Liberty]

Guy Fawkes tried to spark a revolution by blowing up the building

Where's Guy when you really need him?

[Campion]

English Protestants celebrate the failure of a plot to kill James I, and the execution of the plotter.

But Oliver Cromwell, the man who actually did command the killing of James' son and successor, Charles I, was never tried, convicted, or executed for his regicide, and there is no national holiday celebrating his death.

[Billthedrill]

Darn it. I forgot, forgot, the Fifth of November...

[stylecouncilor]

ping