Remember, remember, the fifth of November

Bonfire Night is an annual commemoration of a failed assassination attempt in 1605. In 1603, Protestant James I became King of England. Despite being the son of the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots, he carried out persecutions against those of the faith, much as his predecessor Queen Elizabeth had done. This lead one unhappy citizen – Robert Catesby – to devise a plot to kill the king and his establishment. With the help of a team of other sympathisers, including soldier Guy Fawkes, barrels of gunpowder were placed in a cellar under the House of Lords with a plan to ignite them on the opening day of Parliament – the fifth of November. Fawkes was given the job of guarding the vault on the previous evening, but the plot was rumbled and just after midnight Fawkes and the gunpowder were found. As news spread of the incident, Londoners began lighting bonfires in celebration of the fact James I was still alive and in 1606 the Observance of Fifth of November Act was passed, enforcing an annual public day of thanksgiving for the plot’s failure. The Act was repealed in 1859. As for Fawkes, tried and found guilty of his crime, he was to be executed opposite the Parliament building in January 1606, but he fell or jumped from the gallows ladder and died of a broken neck. The commemoration eventually lost its religious and political undertones and is now more likely to be an organised bonfire and fireworks display, just for fun.