Saturday 1 November 2014

Guy Fawkes And The Gunpowder Plot

Guy Fawkes And The Gunpowder Plot

If you live in the UK then you always remember to remember the 5th of November, as a time of celebration when young children get their hands on explosives. throwing them at packed buses and fire engines, that are extra busy in this month of the year, due to the increase in arson attacks and bin fires.

This celebration leads to fireworks being used on a regular basis right up to Christmas, extending the joy they bring to the elderly and animals alike.

But why do we celebrate this date at all? Well I hope to give you a quick overview now - so let’s go.


The 5th of November itself marks the date when guy Fawkes, also know as Guido Fawkes, failed to blow up the houses of parliament.

The reason he wanted to do that is because he was part of a group of Catholics, that felt the English government and in particular the monarch at the time, King James the first, treated Catholics unfairly.

Guy Fawkes gained access to under the houses of parliament where he was caught with gunpowder.

Fun fact, it seems that an anonymous letter tipped off the government about the plot. It was given to a brother-in-law of one of the conspirators, warning him not to attend the houses of parliament that day, who also passed it onto the king’s spymaster.

Which lead to the capture and not to forget terrible torture of Guy Fawkes. Guy Fawkes through cruel torture gave up the name of his co-conspirators.

This lead to some of them being hanged, drawn and quartered. If you don’t know what that means, it means they were dragged by a horse to the place of execution, where they would be hung to the point of almost death.

Then they would be emasculated, disembowelled, beheaded and cut or torn into four large pieces. Before their bodies would be put on display. Some conspirators who weren't caught to be murdered this way had their dead bodies exhumed, just so they could be decapitated.

Second fun fact, the death penalty for treason was only abolished in 1998.

The king after having these men brutally murdered, then ordered the rest of the English to celebrate the kings victory, by burning effigies of guy Fawkes on bonfires around the land on the 5th of November.

So as the mindless yobs cause havoc and torture animals with cheap fire works made in the sweat shops of China, remember these joyous times are actually celebrating the brutal murder of people - doesn't it just make you feel warm inside.

If there is anything I would love for you to take away from this video, it’s that learning history is - awesome!

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