~ Remember, remember the 5th of November ~
On November 5, 1605, Guy Fawkes and his band of conspirators were foiled as they plotted to destroy the Houses of Parliament in London. This plot to destroy the top level of British government and kill King James was known as the Gunpowder Plot. In the modern era, Guy seems to have earned some respect, and not just for his stylish moustache and hat.
Guy Fawkes was not the mastermind behind the Gunpowder Plot, but he was caught, black-handed, guarding the 36 barrels of gunpowder which had been stockpiled in a rented room under the House of Commons. That seems to have been enough explosives to destroy Parliament and damage all the buildings within a one mile radius.
The whole thing was hatched among a group of men angry about the treatment of Roman Catholic families and in fact the plot would most likely have been pulled off in style except for one slip. On October 26, 1605, the conspirators wrote a letter to one particular Member of Parliament, a Catholic, warning to stay away from Parliament on November 5. This letter, known as the “Monteagle Letter”, was leaked. You see, some things never change.
Fawkes and his co-conspirators were put on trial January 31, 1606, and then hung, drawn and quartered in the Old Palace Yard in Westminster. He was just 35 years old when he was put to death. Despite being involved in what is basically a terrorist plot, Guy Fawkes was named the 30th Greatest Briton in 2002.
These days, the tech-savvy anti-establishment group “Anonymous” has taken on the Guy Fawkes mask to symbolize their sneaky agendas. In fact, there is a rumour going around that Anonymous will be closing down the website Facebook today – November 5 – Guy Fawkes Day. They say they will do this to protest Facebook’s privacy policy. So we will see. If there was no more Facebook when you woke up this morning, it seems that the remaining pieces that were once Guy Fawkes might just be chuckling at the irony, and you and I will have to get instagram accounts.
