BRITS BITS: Plot against king, Parliament remembered by local community

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt Christopher Mesnard and Airman 1st Class Dillon Johnston
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
With a match in one hand and a slow-burn fuse in the other, a conspirator knew his plot was on the verge of discovery, but still he endured knowing all he needed was a few more hours before his wary targets were set in a trap they would not be able to escape.

Even as King James I's guards rounded up Guy Fawkes from a hovel next to the Houses of Parliament, the plotter maintained his resolution to the plan -- to bring down the Protestant king and the predominantly Protestant Parliament. Up to this point, Fawkes was operating under the pseudonym John Johnson, and it wasn't until nearly three days after his capture on Nov. 4, 1605, that the "devil in the vault" and his plot were fully uncovered.

Fawkes was born a Catholic in 1570 in York, England, at a time when English Protestantism was not viewed favorably by the Roman Catholic Church.

As Fawkes grew up, he eventually made his way to Spain and then Flanders, in present day Belgium, where he joined Spanish forces in their attempts to reinforce Roman Catholicism in their provinces.

"He saw military service for the better part of eight or nine years," said Dr. Mark Nicholls, St. Johns College fellow librarian and expert on the history of the gunpowder plot. "Essentially there weren't very many pitch battles out there. A lot of the summer campaigning was, you went and laid siege to a town, you tried to sap under the walls, you tried to blow the walls up, and sometimes you succeeded and sometimes you didn't."

Fawkes' skills with explosives and his disdain of Protestantism made him an ideal choice for a group of Catholic plotters, led by Robert Catesby, who decided to get rid of King James, the English Protestant king at the time.

"They couldn't live under a Protestant king," Nicholls explained. "The crunch point came in 1604 when the king made peace with Catholic Spain. This is decisive because, up to this point, all the extremist Catholics were pinning their hopes on another Spanish Armada and an attempt to invade England and impose a Catholic sovereign on the country."

With the hope for a reestablished Catholic rule dashed, some of the more radical Roman Catholics formed a conspiracy, under Catesby's direction, to get rid of King James and the predominantly Protestant Parliament. Fawkes was to act as a point-man of sorts for the group, considering his military and explosives experience.

When Thomas Percy came to possess a coal room, allowing the conspirators easy access to the Parliamentary building, success for the plotters became a very real option. Over the course of the summer of 1604, about a ton of gunpowder was moved under the foundation of the Houses of Parliament and disguised as a pile of wood.

In the end, the loose lips of the plotters, which included more than a dozen members, is thought to have been the downfall of their plan. On the night of Nov. 4, 1605, the houses and cellars near the Parliamentary building were searched on the hunch of a letter sent to a member of Parliament, foreboding of an end to the king and Parliament.

After Fawkes, Catesby, Percy and the other plotters were found out, they were either hunted down and killed or captured, put on trial and executed by the king's men.

"Most Catholics detested what Guy Fawkes was trying to do," Nicholls said. "Essentially, it would make life more difficult for them because of the backlash from the king and his men."

The aftermath of the plot brought about more severe rules in Parliament against Catholics, but the overall attitude toward the English Catholic remained moderate, and the Spanish and English agreement for peace remained in place.

According to Nicholls, the bonfire celebration stemmed from the successful discovery of the plot, and the Common Council of London distributed an order throughout the town stating "people could burn celebratory bonfires" in recognition of the king's safety.

Even now, more than 400 years later, the gunpowder plot is still remembered. Through a celebration called Bonfire Night, bonfires and fireworks are lit to commemorate the fateful night. Each town has its own version of the celebration, but there are usually fireworks, food and entertainment. One such celebration occurred in Bury St. Edmunds, where not only British civilians, but U.S. service members took part in the festivities.

"All I could see were a sea of heads enjoying the festivities. It easily could compare with the 4th of July. It was nice to mingle with the British," said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Lucas King, 100th Communications Squadron airfield systems technician from Santa Clara, Calif.

As well as enjoying the celebration, service members also assisted with security and safety.

"I was a security guard at the eastern gate of the facility. I made sure people didn't get into the park without paying, which was important because the event was paid for by charity efforts," said Airman 1st Class Tyrus Hairston, 100th CS airfield systems technician from Hayward, Calif.

Keeping a connection to the past is a vital part of understanding the culture and traditions of the country in which a service member is stationed. By remembering the gunpowder plot and taking part in Bonfire Night celebrations, Americans can help build friendships with the British people and broaden their horizons.