Gunpowder Plot

The Gunpowder Plot was a failed 1605 conspiracy by English Catholics to kill King James I and destroy Parliament by blowing up the House of Lords.

Guy Fawkes: An English Catholic conspirator who guarded the gunpowder beneath the House of Lords. He was discovered in the cellar on the night before Parliament opened.
Elizabethan Religious Settlement: The laws and policies established under Elizabeth I that made England a Protestant state. It established the religious order against which Catholic resistance developed.
Thomas Percy: An English Catholic conspirator who helped secure access to properties near Parliament. His leases helped the plotters obtain a cellar close to their target.
Bonfire Night: An annual British observance on 5 November commemorating the failure of the Gunpowder Plot. The government turned the plot’s defeat into a recurring public celebration.
House of Lords: The upper chamber of the Parliament of England and later the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The conspirators placed gunpowder beneath it to destroy the king and assembled lawmakers.
Recusancy: The refusal of English Catholics to attend Church of England services, punishable by law and fines. Its penalties formed part of the pressure surrounding the plotters.
Thomas Wintour: An English Catholic conspirator involved in recruiting allies and arranging the plot. He connected Catesby’s plan with other conspirators.
Observance of 5 November Act 1605: An English law requiring an annual service of thanksgiving on 5 November for the plot’s failure. It formalized public commemoration of the discovery.
Robert Catesby: An English Catholic who organized the Gunpowder Plot. He led the conspiracy and planned its political aftermath.
Penal Laws against Catholics: English laws restricting Catholic worship, officeholding, and civic rights after the Reformation. The conspirators lived under laws that constrained Catholic practice.

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