The Gunpowder Plot

Dan Snow's History Hit

History Hit

History

4.7 • 12.9K Ratings

🗓️ 5 November 2021

⏱️ 45 minutes

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Summary

On 5 November 1605, an audacious plan to decapitate the British state was foiled when Guy Fawkes and nearly a ton of gunpowder were discovered in an undercroft beneath the House of Lords. The plan was to blow up King James I and the majority of the nation's religious and political leadership during the State Opening of Parliament and incite a Catholic uprising across the country. It was hatched by a group of disillusioned Catholics, led by Robert Catesby, in a bid to end Catholic persecution and install a monarchy friendly to what they believed to be the true faith. With the discovery of Guy Fawkes, the plot was foiled and many of its participants met bloody ends at the hands of the vengeful authorities. On the anniversary of the plot, better known as Guy Fawkes Night, Dan explains how and why the conspiracy came about, why it failed, what the impact of the plot was and why it has become so embedded in Britain's national identity.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome everybody, welcome to Dan Snow's History It.
0:05.2	It's the 5th of November.
0:07.6	Remember the 5th of November.
0:10.9	Why should we remember it?
0:12.2	Why have we been encouraged to celebrate that day with fireworks and bonfires?
0:16.3	Well, listen up.
0:18.1	I'm going to tell you the story of what's become known as the Gunpowder Plot.
0:21.8	But actually it's a title I think always, it's like diminishes what happened in 1605.
0:27.8	This was not just a Gunpowder Plot. It was one of the most radical plots to destroy an
0:31.3	existing political hierarchy in history.
0:35.1	It was certainly the most ambitious attempt to reshape Britain, I think, since, well, possibly
0:40.7	since Alfred the Great and his successors came up with the very idea of a Kingdom of England.
0:45.9	In November 1605, a group of plotters attempted to kill almost everyone in the British,
0:53.5	political and religious establishment.
0:56.7	They wanted to destroy the seat of government and the parliamentary archives, all the
1:01.7	bits of paper, the data centre of the Kingdom.
1:04.4	They just wanted to decapitate the English state.
1:08.5	It failed.
1:09.5	The Gunpowder Plots did not do those things, but it had a very profound effect on Britain's
1:15.6	religious, cultural, political identity for centuries to come.
1:18.8	And in this pod I want to explain all of that and what it was all about and the events
1:22.0	of that dramatic night in November 1605.
	...

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