History is full of treacherous and deceptive acts committed by ruthless men and women. In desperate times there have always been those who conspire to alter the course of history. Some have been successful while others have failed. The Gunpowder Plot is one of those efforts by a few conspirators that would have changed the course of history in England some 400 years ago. History books, although many omit certain facts, elude many details and even stretch the truth a bit. But, when we hear about the cunning and calculating measurements taken by some of the most infamous characters in history, the people who could have played a pivotal role in altering the course of history, the gunpowder plot is one of those. examples. Next November 5 is the anniversary of a plot so astonishing that the history of England would have been rewritten had it succeeded. Yet there is little mention of it here in the United States about what happened on November 5 more than 400 years ago in jolly old England.

Questions about the events that led to the near-successful terrorist attack on the King of England and Parliament continue to fascinate historians today. One of them is how could a small group of conspirators who had their own misgivings of each other come together and come so close to overthrowing the entire government of England. However, the gunpowder plot came within inches of destroying the entire structure of the monarchy, church and state in what would have been the largest mass explosion in England to date. Hollywood couldn’t have written a better script. Perhaps the gunpowder plot was used as the basis for the recent Designated Survivor television show. The only twist is that the conspirators succeeded in Designated Survivor by blowing up the capital. And I bet some would like to blow up the Trump administration today. This considering all the accusations surrounding the current administration. It would be difficult not to consider the probability of a plot much like Gunpowder’s plot. A plot to eradicate an administration that has turned into one bad soap opera after another from the start. In any case, the fact is that a small group of men came together to strike a fatal blow against a government that continued to persecute those who practiced the Catholic religion.

We have to remind ourselves what led up to that fateful night of November 5, 1605. We have to go back to 1533 when Henry VIII took control of the English church only because the Pope at that time refused to grant Henry VIII a divorce. With the Catholic religion in disgrace by the king it was the beginning of several decades of religious tension in England. This is a time when English Catholics fought in a society that was dominated by the now separate and increasingly powerful Protestant Church of England. When Elizabeth I became queen, she presented the Religious Agreement of Elizabeth. This required that anyone appointed to public office swear allegiance to the monarch as head of state and church. This was probably the actual beginning of a growing number of Catholic uprisings against Protestants because Pope Pius V excommunicated the Queen.

In 1603 the end of an era came when Queen Elizabeth died. Catholics for more than 33 years suffered severe persecution. Since she was excommunicated, many Catholics were now considered enemies of the state. And they were severely punished if they were caught practicing their faith. Their hope was revitalized when James I ascended to the English throne after the death of Queens. For a short time, James, whose own wife was a Catholic, relaxed the fines and the persecution. But, as time passed, the growing number of Catholics began to annoy the king. It didn’t help when a Catholic plot to overthrow the King was discovered. As a result, James became increasingly antagonistic to all Catholics. As the number of Catholics increased, so did tensions between the king and openly Catholic practitioners.

In 1604, at the Hampton Court Conference, it was King James who turned the tables on the growing number of practicing Catholics when he decreed that all priests and Jesuits be expelled and fined. Apparently later a certain Robert Catesby, a devout Catholic whose own father had been jailed for harboring a priest, had to drop out of his studies to avoid taking the Protestant oath now ordained by the king. From then on he began recruiting this small group of potential conspirators. History tells us that in May 1604 Thomas Wintour, Jack Wright, and Thomas Percy joined Catesby in Strand England. They were joined by Guy Fawkes, who had been serving in the Spanish army. This was the beginning of the gunpowder plot. the conspiracy plot to blow up Parliament.

The night of October 26 became the first inclination that the plot was going to be foiled. An anonymous letter sent to Lord Monteagle warned against the opening of Parliament on November 5. Either out of overconfidence or out of sheer lack of concern over the warning that Lord Monteagle knew of their plan, they went ahead. The first suspicion that something was going to happen was when Monteagle sent Salisbury to search the basement below the House of Lords where they found large barrels of gunpowder. Around midnight, Guy Fawkes was found in hiding. The plot was thwarted at the last minute.

Questions still arise today about how a small group of conspirators could hope to overthrow the government when so many previous conspiracies failed. However, the gunpowder plot came within inches of dismembering the entire structure of the English monarchy. So on November 5 we remember one of England’s most notorious villains or one of its most famous heroes. that depend on one’s ideological inclination. Some still say that Guy Fawkes was the last man to enter Parliament with honest intentions.

Could a gunpowder-like plot occur here in the United States today? It could be possible considering the mood of much of the audience. A plot to correct the mistakes of a political system that has become too corrupt and ineffective to improve the quality of life for all. Just think of the course of history if Guy Fawkes succeeds. It would be wise to remember Guy Fawkes Day on November 5.

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