Who Was Guy Fawkes? | The Man Behind The Gunpowder Plot

History Documentary

Tensions were high in England in late October 1605, when a Catholic English nobleman, Lord Monteagle, received a mysterious letter telling him to avoid the opening of Parliament in a few days time. The letter would come to foil the plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill the Protestant king, James I and IV: the Gunpowder Plot. Every year we celebrate this defining moment in British history, but the jovial atmosphere is a far cry from the origins of the tradition, which has its heart in deep social unrest and fever pitch religious tension.

Credit History Hit