Nov. 5, 1605: The Gunpowder Plot
Exactly four hundred and five years ago ago tonight, early in the pre-dawn hours, King James I of England, a/k/a known as King James the IV of Scotland, (Of King James Bible fame...you know, the first English translation available to the masses) learns that a plot to explode the Parliament building has been foiled, hours before he was scheduled to sit with the rest of the British government in a general parliamentary session.
At about midnight on the night of November 4, Sir Thomas Knyvet (who was a k-nigget) and a justice of the peace, found Guy Fawkes lurking in a cellar under the Parliament building and ordered the premises searched.
Some 20 barrels of gunpowder were found, and Fawkes was taken into custody. During a torture session on the rack, Fawkes revealed that he was a participant in an English Catholic conspiracy to annihilate England's Protestant government and replace it with Catholic leadership.
What became known as the Gunpowder Plot was organized by Robert Catesby, an English Catholic whose father had been persecuted by Queen Elizabeth I for refusing to conform to the Church of England.
Guy Fawkes had converted to Catholicism, and his religious zeal (jihaadism?)led him to fight in the Spanish army in Holland -- hist note: The Spanish controlled Protestant Holland and the freaky, deaky Dutch were fighting to throw them out.
Anyhoo, back to our tale, Catesby and the handful of other plotters rented a cellar that extended under Parliament, and Fawkes planted the gunpowder there, hiding the barrels under coal and wood.
As the November 5 meeting of Parliament approached, Catesby enlisted more English Catholics into the conspiracy, and one of these, Francis Tresham, warned his Catholic brother-in-law Lord Monteagle not to attend Parliament that day because something bad was going to happen. Monteagle wisely alerted the government, and hours before the attack was to have taken place Fawkes and the explosives were found.
The conspirators
By torturing Fawkes, King James' government learned of the identities of his co-conspirators. During the next few weeks, English authorities killed or captured all the plotters and put the survivors on trial, along with a few innocent English Catholics.
Some people still think Guy was cool.
Guy Fawkes himself was sentenced, along with the other surviving chief conspirators, to be hanged, drawn, and quartered in London. This was a very cool punishment. They hung you, not around your neck but under your armpits, then tied horses to each leg and said "giddy-up". The horses pulled until you split apart. Afterwards, they chopped you longitudinally until your body was in four big hunks.
Moments before the start of his gruesome execution, on January 31, 1606, he jumped from a ladder while climbing to the hanging platform, breaking his neck and dying instantly thus denying the crowd asssembled all the fun of watching the drawing and quartering.
In 1606, Parliament established November 5 as a day of public thanksgiving.
Today, Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated across Great Britain every year on November 5 in remembrance of the Gunpowder Plot.
Every British little kid learns this poem too...
As dusk falls, villagers and city dwellers across Britain light bonfires, set off fireworks, and burn effigies of Guy Fawkes, celebrating his failure to blow Parliament and James I to kingdom come.Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder and treason,
Should ever be forgot.
The kiddies get to trick or treat, but they ask at the door, "Penny for the Guy?" instead of "trick or treat." Same outcome, the person then gives them a piece of candy in tribute, presumably to guard against the kid blowing up their house.
2005's celebrations throughout the British commonwealth were especially huge because because it was the 400 anniversary of the event that spawned all the celebration!
Originally Posted by virginiasooner
I kinda laughed despite myself when I saw that, but it was an ironic laugh. 
