|
|
|
  |
| Sunday, 8 May 2005 |
 |
|
 |
Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Trial of Guy Fawkes and others by Lionel Wijesiri
'The Gunpowder Plot' is the name given to the conspiracy to blow up the Houses of Parliament of England on November 5, 1605. The origins of the plot remain unclear and it is doubtful that the truth will ever be known. When Mary, Queen of Scots fled to England in 1567, her thirteen-month-old son James was crowned King of Scotland. With his Catholic mother in England as a prisoner, James was brought up as a Protestant. On the instructions of Elizabeth 1, Queen of England, Mary was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle on February 8, 1587. Both of them were cousins. When Elizabeth I, too, died in 1603 without children, Mary's son, was next in line to the throne. As James was a Protestant, English Parliament was also in favour of him becoming king. The Roman Catholics in England, however, were upset that there was going to be another Protestant monarch. James was well aware of the anti-Catholic sentiment in England, and he did not repeal the laws against recusants. The following year, under pressure from Parliament, he expelled Catholic priests from the country. Catholics felt betrayed, and on May 20 1604, five men met to plot James's overthrow. Being no stranger to plots and intrigue, Robert Catesby, a prominent Catholic leader called Thomas Wintour, John Wright, Thomas Percy and Guy Fawkes in order to lay before them, both his plan to blow up the King and the House of Lords at the next opening of parliament. Of these men the first four had noble connections, but Fawkes was nothing more than a disaffected soldier. With the monarch, and most of his leading ministers dead, they would raise a general revolt to return Catholicism to the land. Over the next few months Robert Wintour, Thomas Bates and Christopher Wright and John Grant, Sir Everard Digby, Robert Keyes, Ambrose Rookwood, and Catesby's cousin Francis Tresham also agreed to take part in the overthrow of the King. The conspirators thus expanded their number to a point reaching 13 where secrecy was impossible. At first the men hired lodgings near the Parliament buildings and attempted to tunnel into the cellars of Parliament. The tunnel scheme was quickly abandoned, however, either because of water from the Thames seeping into the tunnel, or because the going proved too difficult. Instead, Thomas Percy used his influence to gain access to cellars beneath Parliament, and into these cellars they secretly brought 36 barrels of gunpowder, which they carefully hid. Guy Fawkes, because of his munition experience in the Netherlands, was given the task of creating the explosion. The cardinal weakness in the conspiracy lay, however, with Francis Gresham: his brother-in-law, Lord Monteagle, was an MP. The plot was discovered, in the official version, through an anonymous letter to Lord Monteagle, a Catholic, warning him not to attend the State Opening. Whether the letter was genuine or not is uncertain. Another version says that Francis Tresham was worried that the explosion would kill his brother-in-law and on October 26, sent him a letter warning him not to attend Parliament on November 5. However, Lord Monteagle passed the letter to Robert Cecil, the King's chief minister. Cecil quickly organised a thorough search of the Houses of Parliament. While searching the cellars below the House of Lords they found the gunpowder and Guy Fawkes. He was tortured and he eventually gave the names of his fellow conspirators. "The rest of the conspirators left London and agreed to meet at Holbeche House in Staffordshire. News of their hiding place reached the Sheriff of Worcester and on November 8 the house was surrounded by troops. The men refused to surrender and gunfire broke out. Over the next few minutes, Robert Catesby, Thomas Percy, Christopher Wright and John Wright were killed. Everard Digby was the only one of the conspirators to plead guilty. He gave several reasons for his involvement in the Gunpowder Plot. This included his Roman Catholic beliefs, his friendship with Robert Catesbgy and the King's broken promises in regard to religious toleration. Francis Tresham was arrested on November 12. In the Tower of London he wrote a full confession about his involvement in the Gunpowder Plot. By December 23 Francis Tresham had succumbed to a urinary tract infection and had died in the tower. However, many people believed he was working as a double agent for Robert Cecil. On Thursday, January 30, Digby, Robert Wintour, John Grand and Thomas Bates were executed in St. Paul's Churchyard. The following day, Thomas Wintour, Ambrose Rookwood, Robert Keyes and Guy Fawkes were executed in the Old Palace Yard at Westminster. All eight men were hanged, drawn and quartered as was customary for traitors. Those who died at Holbeche were exhumed, and their heads removed to be displayed on pikes. In recent years some historians have begun to question the traditional story of the Gunpowder Plot. Some have argued that the conspiracy was really devised by Robert Cecil and Lord Monteagle. It is argued that Cecil's aim was to make people in England hate Catholics. For example, people were so angry after they found out about the plot, that they agreed to Cecil's plans to pass a series of laws persecuting Catholics. Rumours also soon began circulating that Monteagle had arranged for Francis Tresham to be poisoned while being held captive in the Tower of London. It seems more likely, however, that Cecil's agents merely infiltrated an existing conspiracy. He then left the plot's unveiling until the last minute for added dramatic effect. In fact, the King may never have been in any real danger. Guy Fawkes Day, November 5, is still celebrated in England with fireworks and bonfires, on which effigies of the conspirator are burned. This year marks the 400th anniversary of the plot; an exhibition 'The Gunpowder Plot: Parliament and Treason' will be held in Westminster Hall at the Palace of Westminster between July and November 2005.
|
|
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Produced by Lake House |
