In March 1603, King James VI of Scotland ascended the English throne. In England, he ruled under the name of James I. The new monarch refused to abolish the repressive laws against Catholics, which caused sharp discontent among them, prompting some radicals to the idea of an attempt on the king's life. An assassination attempt that went down in history as the Gunpowder Plot.
The soul of the conspiracy was the young nobleman Robert Catesby, who organized in the spring of 1604 a secret meeting of the most reliable like-minded people. The essence of the plan was to lay a huge mass of gunpowder in the basement of parliament, directly under the House of Lords, where the king was to deliver his throne speech.
A powerful explosion would have buried under the ruins of Westminster not only the king and queen, but also members of both houses, as well as the highest representatives of the judiciary. Further, it was supposed to elevate to the throne the young daughter of Jacob, Princess Elizabeth, appointing the Catholic regents as guardians. Force support for the operation was to be provided by Catholic militias, as well as Stanley's emigrant regiment transferred from Flanders.
Soon there was a leading core of conspirators, which included five people: Robert Catesby himself, as well as Thomas Percy, Thomas Winter and John Wright, in addition, a certain Guy Fawkes. If the first four were hereditary aristocrats, then Fox was a native of the common people who managed to rise to the rank of officer. A fanatic, obedient to the will of his leaders, he knew subtlety to the subtleties of subversion and volunteered to set fire to the fuse. After some time, it became known that the king's speech to the throne was scheduled for November 5, 1605.
Some of the conspirators
The House of Lords was located on the upper, second floor of the English Parliament building. The basement, as it turned out, had recently been rented by a certain merchant Bright, a coal trader. A number of houses adjoined Westminster, including the structure known as the Vinegrehouse. The Thames flowed nearby, on the opposite bank of which stood the house that belonged to Catesby. It was to this house that the conspirators began to transport barrels of gunpowder on boats.
In the meantime, Thomas Percy managed to rent the Vinegrehouse. The participants in the impending assassination attempt began to transport the gunpowder to a new location, while at the same time proceeding to dig a tunnel into the Westminster basement. Finally, all 36 barrels of gunpowder took their place in the basement. The total weight of the charge was more than two and a half tons. A flooring of planks was built over the barrels, filling it with coal. On the evening of October 26, Lord Montigle received an anonymous letter delivered to him by a servant. The lord asked his guest Thomas Ward to read the letter aloud. A certain well-wisher in vague terms persuaded the lord under any pretext to refuse to attend the session, hinting at a "terrible blow" that should have hit the "wicked" (it was not difficult to guess that it was about the king).
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In the meantime, Thomas Percy managed to rent Vinegrehouse. The participants in the impending assassination attempt began to transport the gunpowder to a new location, while at the same time proceeding to dig a tunnel into the Westminster basement. Finally, all 36 barrels of gunpowder took their place in the basement. The total weight of the charge was more than two and a half tons. A flooring of planks was built over the barrels, filling it with coal.
On the evening of October 26, Lord Montigle received an anonymous letter delivered to him by a servant. The lord asked his guest Thomas Ward to read the letter aloud. A certain well-wisher in vague terms persuaded the lord under any pretext to refuse to attend the session, hinting at a "terrible blow" that should have hit the "wicked" (it was not difficult to guess that it was about the king).
Lord Montagle received an anonymous letter
I must say that once Montigl, who professed Catholicism, participated in the Essex conspiracy and was persecuted. After the accession to the throne of James I, he announced his desire to convert to Anglicanism. Montigl got his estates back, he got a seat in the House of Lords. Concerned by the cryptic warning, the lord rushed to Whitehall, where he found the Secretary of State of England, Robert Cecil, the chief royal adviser.
Many historians claim that it was the anonymous letter that gave impetus to the disclosure of the Gunpowder Plot. But if so, then it is difficult to understand the surprising reaction of Lord Cecil, who told the visitor that the letter was not trustworthy, and that the king should not be disturbed over such trifles.
According to another version, the secretary of state, who was in charge of royal intelligence, had long received detailed information about the conspiracy from his spies, and he also knew about the powder kegs in the basement. Lord Cecil was playing a subtle game, the goal of which was to take all the conspirators "hot". The letter that had appeared that appeared threatened to break this game, which is why the chief royal adviser tried in every possible way to calm Lord Montigl.
Lord Montigl's guest - Thomas Ward, who, by the way, was one of the active conspirators, realizing that the conspiracy was on the verge of failure, hastened to warn his associates of the danger. Robert Catesby, however, found no reason to cancel the action.
At the same time, round-the-clock surveillance was established at the entrance to the basement, Guy Fawkes regularly checked the integrity of the coal heap above the barrels. Shortly before the opening of the session, a group of MPs descended into the basement to formally survey the dungeon. One of the inspectors turned to Guy Fawkes with the question: who, they say, is he, and what is this pile of coal?
Fox replied that he was serving Thomas Percy, on whose orders this coal was delivered to heat the house. That was the end of it. Preparations for the session went on as usual, with no sign of alarm at the royal court.
On the night of November 5, Guy Fawkes went down to the basement for the last time. He had a tinder and a watch in his pockets. The coal pile looked as usual. With the fuse ready, Fox went outside into the fresh air. And then, like kites, people in black swooped down on him.
Guy Fawkes arrest
The king ordered that the criminal be taken to the Tower and tortured. Meanwhile, the conspirators, having learned that their accomplice was arrested, hastened to leave the capital. But the chase was already on the trail. Robert Catesby and Thomas Percy chose to die in a shootout with their pursuers, everyone else was captured and taken to the Tower.
The court, held on January 27, 1606, sentenced all the accused to death. The executions took place on January 30 and 31 in London, in the courtyard of St. Paul's Cathedral, with a large crowd of people. The instigators of the conspiracy were first hanged, but after a few moments, while they were still conscious, the executioner's henchmen cut the ropes.
Execution of conspirators
Then the unfortunates were castrated, gutted, quartered, and only after that their heads were chopped off. Guy Fawkes alone managed to trick the executioners by jumping off the scaffold so abruptly that the rope broke his neck.
Valery Nechiporenko
