Remember, remember, the 5th of November, which is also known as Bonfire Night. On that night in 1605, Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament. He was eventually caught because someone had known about the plot and told the guards. Fawkes was then tortured for ten days until he died. But that isn’t the full story at all.

The threat to James I

James I (of England) was a Catholic and, after 40 years of Elizabeth’s reign, where everyone had to be Protestant or face the consequences, the Catholics were happy. But the Protestants weren’t happy and were always plotting against James so they could get a Protestant king on the throne.

A few months before the plot, James I was strongly advised to stay away from Parliament and he took that advice on board. So, really, he wasn’t in any danger at all.

Guy Fawkes thought up of the plot

Guy Fawkes was brought in by Protestants who were planning the plot because he was an explosives expert. So, in a nutshell, there were many other people involved, but Fawkes got the blame for it.