Recusancy (from Latin : recusare , lit. 'to refuse' ) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation .
136-617: The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason , was an unsuccessful attempted regicide against King James VI of Scotland and I of England by a group of English Roman Catholics , led by Robert Catesby , who considered their actions attempted tyrannicide and who sought regime change in England after decades of religious persecution . The plan
272-602: A mounted troop of 50 bodyguards to the King. This role gave Percy reason to seek a base in London, and a small property near the Prince's Chamber owned by Henry Ferrers, a tenant of John Whynniard, was chosen. Percy arranged for the use of the house through Northumberland's agents, Dudley Carleton and John Hippisley . Fawkes, using the pseudonym "John Johnson", took charge of the building, posing as Percy's servant. The building
408-522: A patricide , rather than as regicide, which lets one deduce that, through divine right, the king was also regarded as "Father of the country". Recusancy The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign of Elizabeth I , and temporarily repealed in the Interregnum (1649–1660) , remained on the statute books until 1888. They imposed punishments such as fines, property confiscation and imprisonment on recusants. The suspension under Oliver Cromwell
544-612: A Catholic himself, planned to build a strong relationship with James I in order to better the prospects of English Catholics, and to reduce the family disgrace caused by his separation from his wife Martha Wright, a favourite of Elizabeth I. Thomas Percy's meetings with James seemed to go well. Percy returned with promises of support for the Catholics, and Northumberland believed that James would go so far as to allow Mass in private houses, so as not to cause public offence. Percy, keen to improve his standing, went even further, claiming that
680-458: A better one. On 25 June 1836, a Frenchman named Alibaud attempted to assassinate the " July Monarch " Louis Philippe I by shooting him. At trial, Alibaud held the king responsible for the economic ruin of his family, compared himself to Marcus Junius Brutus (most well known amongst the assassins of Julius Caesar ), and stated: "Regicide is the right of all men who are debarred from any justice but that which they take into their own hands." He
816-553: A ceasefire in the conflict with Spain, and even though the two countries were still technically at war, King Philip III sent his envoy, Don Juan de Tassis , to congratulate James on his accession. In the following year both countries signed the Treaty of London . For decades, the English had lived under a monarch who refused to provide an heir, but James arrived with a family and a clear line of succession. His wife, Anne of Denmark ,
952-635: A committed Catholic who had served as a soldier in the Southern Netherlands under the command of William Stanley , and in 1603 had been recommended for a captaincy. Accompanied by John Wright's brother Christopher, Fawkes had also been a member of the 1603 delegation to the Spanish court pleading for an invasion of England. Wintour told Fawkes that " some good frends of his wished his company in Ingland ", and that certain gentlemen " were uppon
1088-469: A convert, was composer William Byrd . Some of Byrd's most popular motets were actually written as a type of correspondence to a friend and fellow composer, Philippe de Monte . De Monte wrote his own motets in response, such as the "Super Flumina Babylonis". These correspondence motets often featured themes of oppression or the hope of deliverance. Dorothy Lawson was a Catholic noblewoman who used her autonomy, financial independence and social status as
1224-557: A further 19 served life imprisonment. The bodies of the regicides Cromwell , Bradshaw , and Ireton , which had been buried in Westminster Abbey , were disinterred and hanged, drawn and quartered in posthumous executions . In 1662, three more regicides, John Okey , John Barkstead and Miles Corbet , were also hanged, drawn and quartered. The officers of the court that tried Charles I, those who prosecuted him, and those who signed his death warrant , have been known ever since
1360-553: A haven for priests. John Grant was married to Wintour's sister, Dorothy, and was lord of the manor of Norbrook near Stratford-upon-Avon . Reputed to be an intelligent, thoughtful man, he sheltered Catholics at his home at Snitterfield , and was another who had been involved in the Essex revolt of 1601. In addition, 25 March was the day on which the plotters purchased the lease to the undercroft they had supposedly tunnelled near to, owned by John Whynniard. The Palace of Westminster in
1496-526: A king by one of his own subjects was taken to amount to a direct challenge to the monarch, to his divine right to rule, and thus to God's will. The biblical David refused to harm King Saul, because he was the Lord's anointed, even though Saul was seeking his life; and when Saul eventually was killed in battle and a person reported to David that he helped kill Saul, David put the man to death, even though Saul had been his enemy, because he had raised his hands against
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#17327756190561632-449: A lake and drowning. Even after the disappearance of the divine right of kings and the appearance of constitutional monarchies , the term continued and continues to be used to describe the murder of a king. In France , the judicial penalty for regicides (i.e. those who had murdered, or attempted to murder, the king) was especially hard, even in regard to the harsh judicial practices of pre- revolutionary France. As with many criminals,
1768-481: A large pile of firewood in the undercroft beneath the House of Lords, accompanied by what they presumed to be a serving man (Fawkes), who told them that the firewood belonged to his master, Thomas Percy. They left to report their findings, at which time Fawkes also left the building. The mention of Percy's name aroused further suspicion as he was already known to the authorities as a Catholic agitator. The King insisted that
1904-679: A man of "ancient, historic and distinguished lineage", was the inspiration behind the plot. He was described by contemporaries as "a good-looking man, about six feet tall, athletic and a good swordsman". Along with several other conspirators, he took part in the Essex Rebellion in 1601, during which he was wounded and captured. Queen Elizabeth allowed him to escape with his life after fining him 4,000 marks (equivalent to more than £6 million in 2008), after which he sold his estate in Chastleton . In 1603, Catesby helped to organise
2040-466: A meal in a long-disused house at Hoxton . Suddenly a servant appeared saying he had been handed a letter for Lord Monteagle from a stranger in the road. Monteagle ordered it to be read aloud to the company. My Lord, out of the love I bear to some of your friends, I have a care of your preservation. Therefore I would advise you, as you tender your life, to devise some excuse to shift your attendance at this parliament; for God and man hath concurred to punish
2176-477: A mission to the new king of Spain, Philip III , urging Philip to launch an invasion attempt on England, which they assured him would be well supported, particularly by the English Catholics. Thomas Wintour (1571–1606) was chosen as the emissary, but the Spanish king, although sympathetic to the plight of Catholics in England, was intent on making peace with James. Wintour had also attempted to convince
2312-587: A more thorough search be undertaken. Late that night, the search party, headed by Thomas Knyvet , returned to the undercroft. They again found Fawkes, dressed in a cloak and hat, and wearing boots and spurs. He was arrested, whereupon he gave his name as John Johnson. He was carrying a lantern now held in the Ashmolean Museum , Oxford , and a search of his person revealed a pocket watch, several slow matches and touchwood. 36 barrels of gunpowder were discovered hidden under piles of faggots and coal. Fawkes
2448-463: A passageway called Parliament Place, which itself led to Parliament Stairs and the River Thames . Undercrofts were common features at the time, used to house a variety of materials including food and firewood. Whynniard's undercroft, on the ground floor, was directly beneath the first-floor House of Lords, and may once have been part of the palace's medieval kitchen. Unused and filthy, its location
2584-570: A prayer book. By coincidence, and ignorant of the plot, John Gerard (a friend of Catesby's) was celebrating Mass in another room, and the five men subsequently received the Eucharist . The adjournment of Parliament gave the conspirators, they thought, until February 1605 to finalise their plans. On 9 June 1604, Percy's patron, the Earl of Northumberland, appointed him to the Band of Gentlemen Pensioners ,
2720-457: A resolution to doe some whatt in Ingland if the pece with Spain healped us nott ". The two men returned to England late in April 1604, telling Catesby that Spanish support was unlikely. Thomas Percy, Catesby's friend and John Wright's brother-in-law, was introduced to the plot several weeks later. Percy had found employment with his kinsman the Earl of Northumberland, and by 1596, was his agent for
2856-591: A second meeting in July in Essex, showing him a letter from the pope which forbade rebellion. Soon after, the Jesuit priest Oswald Tesimond told Garnet he had taken Catesby's confession, in the course of which he had learnt of the plot. Garnet and Catesby met for a third time on 24 July 1605, at the house of the wealthy Catholic Anne Vaux in Enfield Chase . Garnet decided that Tesimond's account had been given under
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#17327756190562992-673: A series of taverns across London and Daventry . Fawkes would be left to light the fuse and then escape across the Thames, while simultaneously a revolt in the Midlands would help to ensure the capture of the King's daughter, Elizabeth. Fawkes would leave for the continent, to explain events in England to the European Catholic powers. The wives of those involved and Anne Vaux (a friend of Garnet who often shielded priests at her home) became increasingly concerned by what they suspected
3128-460: A similar manner. Colonel Francis Hacker , who signed the order to the executioner of the king and commanded the guard around the scaffold and at the trial, was hanged. Concern amongst the royal ministers over the negative impact on popular sentiment of these public tortures and executions led to jail sentences being substituted for the remaining regicides. Some regicides, such as Richard Ingoldsby and Philip Nye , were conditionally pardoned, while
3264-534: A small fortune, Robert Wintour inherited Huddington Court (a known refuge for priests) near Worcester , and was reputedly a generous and well-liked man. A devout Catholic, he married Gertrude, the daughter of John Talbot of Grafton , from a prominent Worcestershire family of recusants. Christopher Wright (1568–1605), John's brother, had also taken part in the Earl of Essex's revolt and had moved his family to Twigmore in Lincolnshire , then known as something of
3400-584: A son attended a seminary in Douai . The Jacobean poet John Donne was another notable Englishman born into a recusant Catholic family. He later, however, authored two Protestant leaning writings and, at the behest of King James I , was ordained into the Church of England. Guy Fawkes , an Englishman and a Spanish soldier, along with other recusants or converts, including, among others, Sir Robert Catesby , Christopher Wright , John Wright and Thomas Percy ,
3536-505: A tunnel comes directly from Thomas Wintour's confession, and Guy Fawkes did not admit the existence of such a scheme until his fifth interrogation. Logistically, digging a tunnel would have proved extremely difficult, especially as none of the conspirators had any experience of mining. If the story is true, by 6 December 1604 the Scottish commissioners had finished their work, and the conspirators were busy tunnelling from their rented house to
3672-516: A vacancy of the Crown. Others refused because, as the bill had not passed the House of Lords and did not have Royal Assent , it could not become an Act of Parliament. The Declaration of Breda 11 years later paved the way for the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. At the time of the restoration , thirty-one of the fifty-nine Commissioners who had signed the death warrant were living. Parliament, with
3808-477: A week, although the collection of all these fines was "haphazard and negligent". When James came to power, almost £5,000 a year (equivalent to almost £12 million in 2020) was being raised by these fines. On 19 March, the King gave his opening speech to his first English Parliament in which he spoke of his desire to secure peace, but only by "profession of the true religion". He also spoke of a Christian union and reiterated his desire to avoid religious persecution. For
3944-513: A widow to harbour priests in her household. She was a patroness of the Society of Jesus , who met yearly at her home to discuss the mission in England, employed Catholic servants, held religious services for the local community, and visited recusants who were imprisoned in jail for their beliefs. Her children were raised in the Catholic faith. Three daughters entered convents on the continent and
4080-492: A woman thought to have Catholic sympathies. As Elizabeth's health deteriorated, the government detained those they considered to be the "principal papists", and the Privy Council grew so worried that Arbella Stuart was moved closer to London to prevent her from being kidnapped by papists . Despite competing claims to the English throne, the transition of power following Elizabeth's death went smoothly. James's succession
4216-596: Is about to be spilled end the bloodshed which has been experienced in my new motherland. Long live Mexico! Long live its independence!". On 14 July 1958, at least four members of the ruling Hashemite family (including the King and the Crown Prince) of the Kingdom of Iraq were killed by revolutionaries of the Nationalist Officers' Organization under the command of Abdul Salam Arif . King Umberto I
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4352-587: Is often associated with the usurpation of power . A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of regis and cida ( cidium ), meaning "of monarch" and "killer" respectively. In the British tradition, it refers to the judicial execution of a king after a trial , reflecting the historical precedent of the trial and execution of Charles I of England . The concept of regicide has also been explored in media and
4488-495: Is passed as soon as you have burnt the letter. And I hope God will give you the grace to make good use of it, to whose holy protection I commend you. Uncertain of the letter's meaning, Monteagle promptly rode to Whitehall and handed it to Cecil (then Earl of Salisbury ). Salisbury informed the Earl of Worcester , considered to have recusant sympathies, and the suspected Catholic Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton , but kept news of
4624-713: The Archpriest George Blackwell , who instructed his priests to have no part in any such schemes. At about the same time, Lord Cobham , Lord Grey de Wilton , Griffin Markham and Walter Raleigh hatched what became known as the Main Plot , which involved removing James and his family and supplanting them with Arbella Stuart . Amongst others, they approached Philip III of Spain for funding, but were unsuccessful. All those involved in both plots were arrested in July and tried in autumn 1603. George Brooke
4760-854: The Dukes of Norfolk , the highest-ranking non-royal family in England and hereditary holders of the title of Earl Marshal , is considered the most prominent Catholic family in England. Other members of the Howard family, the Earls of Carlisle, Effingham and Suffolk are Anglican, including a cadet branch of the Carlisles who own Castle Howard in Yorkshire. Recusancy was historically focused in Northern England , particularly Cumberland , Lancashire , Yorkshire and Westmoreland . A geographical exception
4896-709: The First English Civil War , King Charles I was a prisoner of the Parliamentarians . The Parliamentarians attempted to negotiate a compromise with him, but he stuck steadfastly to his view that he was King by divine right and attempted in secret to raise an army to fight against them. It became obvious to the leaders of the Parliamentarians that they could not negotiate a settlement with him and they could not trust him to refrain from raising an army against them; they reluctantly came to
5032-658: The Palace of Whitehall and informed him that, based on the information that Salisbury had given them a week earlier, on Monday the Lord Chamberlain Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk would undertake a search of the Houses of Parliament, "both above and below". On Sunday 3 November, Percy, Catesby and Wintour had a final meeting, where Percy told his colleagues that they should "abide the uttermost triall", and reminded them of their ship waiting at anchor on
5168-595: The Regency and the reign of George IV (1811–30). The Nuttall Encyclopædia notes that Dissenters were largely forgiven by the Act of Toleration under William III, while Catholics "were not entirely emancipated till 1829". Early recusants included Protestant dissenters , whose confessions derived from the Calvinistic Reformers or Radical Reformers . With the growth of these latter groups after
5304-612: The Restoration of Charles II , they were distinguished from Catholic recusants by the terms "nonconformist" or "dissenter". The recusant period reaped an extensive harvest of saints and martyrs . Among the recusants were some high-profile Catholic aristocrats such as the Howards and, for a time, the Plantagenet -descended Beauforts . This patronage ensured that an organic and rooted English base continued to inform
5440-675: The Rump Parliament passed a Bill setting up a High Court of Justice in order to try Charles I for high treason "in the name of the people of England." From a Royalist and post- restoration perspective, this Bill was not lawful, as the House of Lords refused to pass it and it predictably failed to receive the Royal Assent . However, the Parliamentary leaders and the Army pressed on with the trial regardless. At his trial in
5576-576: The Spanish Netherlands in the failed suppression of the Dutch Revolt , was given charge of the explosives. On 26 October 1605 an anonymous letter of warning was sent to William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle , a Catholic member of Parliament, who immediately showed it to the authorities. During a search of the House of Lords on the evening of 4 November 1605, Fawkes was discovered guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder —enough to reduce
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5712-528: The Tudor period, English kings had been murdered while imprisoned (for example Edward II and Edward V ) or killed in battle by their subjects (for example Richard III ); Scottish kings had also died in battle against rebels (such as James III ) or been assassinated ( Duncan II , James I ); but none of these deaths is usually referred to as regicide. The word regicide seems to have come into popular use among continental Catholics when Pope Sixtus V renewed
5848-517: The papal bull of excommunication against the "crowned regicide" Queen Elizabeth I , for—among other things—executing Mary, Queen of Scots , in 1587, although she had abdicated the Scottish crown some 20 years earlier. Elizabeth had originally been excommunicated by Pope Pius V , in Regnans in Excelsis , for converting England to Protestantism after the reign of Mary I of England . After
5984-657: The "effluxion of people from the Northern parts" was unwelcome, and compared them to "plants which are transported from barren ground into a more fertile one". Even more discontent resulted when the King allowed his Scottish nobles to collect the recusancy fines. There were 5,560 convicted of recusancy in 1605, of whom 112 were landowners. The very few Catholics of great wealth who refused to attend services at their parish church were fined £20 per month. Those of more moderate means had to pay two-thirds of their annual rental income; middle class recusants were fined one shilling
6120-401: The 5th of November we began our Parliament, to which the King should have come in person, but refrained through a practise but that morning discovered. The plot was to have blown up the King at such time as he should have been set on his Royal Throne, accompanied with all his Children, Nobility and Commoners and assisted with all Bishops, Judges and Doctors; at one instant and blast to have ruin'd
6256-473: The Borromeo testament is a 17th-century artefact (at the earliest dating from 1638), was not printed for missionary work, and could never have been in the possession of John Shakespeare. John Shakespeare was listed as one who did not attend church services, but this was "for feare of processe for Debtte", according to the commissioners, not because he was a recusant. Another notable English Catholic, possibly
6392-482: The Bye Plot had been revealed by Catholics was instrumental in saving them from further persecution, and James was grateful enough to allow pardons for those recusants who sued for them, as well as postponing payment of their fines for a year. On 19 February 1604, shortly after he discovered that his wife, Queen Anne, had been sent a rosary from the pope via one of James's spies, Sir Anthony Standen , James denounced
6528-700: The Catholic Church as martyrs of the English Reformation . Today, recusant applies to the descendants of Roman Catholic families of the British gentry and aristocracy . It derives from the Latin word recūsant , meaning to demur or object. After the English Reformation , from the 16th to the 19th centuries those guilty of such nonconformity , termed "recusants", were subject to civil penalties and sometimes, especially in
6664-529: The Catholic Church. Three days later, he ordered all Jesuits and all other Catholic priests to leave the country, and reimposed the collection of fines for recusancy. James changed his focus from the anxieties of English Catholics to the establishment of an Anglo-Scottish union. He also appointed Scottish nobles such as George Home to his court, which proved unpopular with the Parliament of England . Some Members of Parliament made it clear that, in their view,
6800-413: The Catholics, the King's speech made it clear that they were not to "increase their number and strength in this Kingdom", that "they might be in hope to erect their Religion again". To John Gerard , these words were almost certainly responsible for the heightened levels of persecution the members of his faith now suffered, and for the priest Oswald Tesimond , they were a repudiation of the early claims that
6936-668: The English throne. During James I's reign the European wars of religion were intensifying. Protestants and Catholics were engaged in violent persecution of each other across Europe following the Protestant Reformation . Catholics made several assassination attempts on Protestant rulers in Europe and in England, including plans to poison James I's predecessor, Elizabeth I. In 1589, during the French Wars of Religion ,
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#17327756190567072-681: The French King Henry III was mortally wounded with a dagger by Jacques Clément , a fanatic member of the Catholic League of France . Nine years later, the Jesuit Juan de Mariana 's 1599 On Kings and the Education of Kings ( De rege et regis institutione ) argued in support of tyrannicide . This work recounted the assassination of Henry III and argued for the legal right to overthrow a tyrant. Perhaps due in part to
7208-527: The High Court of Justice on Saturday 20 January 1649 in Westminster Hall , Charles asked "I would know by what power I am called hither. I would know by what authority, I mean lawful". In view of the historic issues involved, both sides based themselves on surprisingly technical legal grounds. Charles did not dispute that Parliament as a whole did have some judicial powers, but he maintained that
7344-447: The House of Commons on its own could not try anybody, and so he refused to plead. At that time under English law , if a prisoner refused to plead, they would be treated identically to one who had pleaded guilty. This has since changed; a refusal to plead is now interpreted as a not-guilty plea. Charles was found guilty on Saturday 27 January 1649, and his death warrant was signed by fifty-nine commissioners . To show their agreement with
7480-528: The House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament. Wintour was known as a competent scholar, able to speak several languages, and he had fought with the English army in the Netherlands. His uncle, Francis Ingleby , had been executed for being a Catholic priest in 1586, and Wintour later converted to Catholicism. Also present at the meeting was John Wright , a devout Catholic said to be one of
7616-399: The House of Lords to rubble—and arrested. Hearing that the plot had been discovered, most of the conspirators fled from London while trying to enlist support along the way. Several made a last stand against the pursuing Sheriff of Worcester and a posse of his men at Holbeche House ; in the ensuing gunfight Catesby was one of those shot and killed. At their trial on 27 January 1606, eight of
7752-569: The House of Lords. They ceased their efforts when, during tunnelling, they heard a noise from above. The noise turned out to be the then-tenant's widow, who was clearing out the undercroft directly beneath the House of Lords—the room where the plotters eventually stored the gunpowder. By the time the plotters reconvened at the start of the old style new year on Lady Day , 25 March 1605, three more had been admitted to their ranks; Robert Wintour , John Grant , and Christopher Wright . The additions of Wintour and Wright were obvious choices. Along with
7888-413: The King and Parliament. Nevertheless, he maintained his composure and insisted that he had acted alone. His unwillingness to yield so impressed the King that he described him as possessing "a Roman resolution". Regicide Note: Varies by jurisdiction Note: Varies by jurisdiction Philosophers Works Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and
8024-714: The King had made, upon which the papists had built their hopes. A week after James's speech, Edmund, Lord Sheffield , informed the king of over 900 recusants brought before the Assizes in Normanby , and on 24 April, the Popish Recusants Act 1605 was introduced in Parliament which threatened to outlaw all English followers of the Catholic Church. The conspirators' principal aim was to kill King James, but many other important targets would also be present at
8160-454: The King", and urged the pope to issue a public brief against the use of force. According to Fawkes, 20 barrels of gunpowder were brought in at first, followed by 16 more on 20 July. The supply of gunpowder was theoretically controlled by the government, but it was easily obtained from illicit sources. On 28 July, the ever-present threat of the plague again delayed the opening of Parliament, this time until Tuesday 5 November. Fawkes left
8296-606: The King's daughter, Elizabeth. Housed at Coombe Abbey near Coventry , she lived only ten miles north of Warwick —convenient for the plotters, most of whom lived in the Midlands . Once the King and his Parliament were dead, the plotters intended to install Elizabeth on the English throne as a titular Queen. The fate of her brothers, Henry and Charles, would be improvised; their role in state ceremonies was, as yet, uncertain. The plotters planned to use Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland , as Elizabeth's regent , but most likely never informed him of this. Robert Catesby (1573–1605),
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#17327756190568432-433: The Lord's anointed. Christian concepts of the inviolability of the person of the monarch have great influence from this story. Diarmait mac Cerbaill , King of Tara (mentioned above), was killed by Áed Dub mac Suibni in 565. According to Adomnan of Iona 's Life of St Columba, Áed Dub mac Suibni received God's punishment for this crime by being impaled by a treacherous spear many years later and then falling from his ship into
8568-490: The Midlands. Fawkes visited Keyes, and was given a pocket watch left by Percy, to time the fuse, and an hour later Rookwood received several engraved swords from a local cutler . Although two accounts of the number of searches and their timing exist, according to the King's version, the first search of the buildings in and around Parliament was made on Monday 4 November—as the plotters were busy making their final preparations—by Suffolk, Monteagle, and John Whynniard. They found
8704-453: The Parlement ordered the executioner and his aides to cut Damiens' joints. Damiens was then dismembered, to the applause of the crowd. His trunk, apparently still living, was then burnt at the stake. In Discipline and Punish , the French philosopher Michel Foucault cites this case of Damiens the Regicide as an example of disproportionate punishment in the era preceding the " Age of Reason ". The classical school of criminology asserts that
8840-462: The Protestant world around the same time beginning with the Revised Standard Version ). Various other translations were used by Catholics around the world for English-language liturgies, ranging from the New American Bible and the Jerusalem Bible to the Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition . There were dozens of recusant families, some no longer extant. For example, the Howard family , some of whose members are known as Fitzalan-Howard,
8976-488: The Spanish envoy Don Juan de Tassis that "3,000 Catholics" were ready and waiting to support such an invasion. Concern was voiced by Pope Clement VIII that using violence to achieve a restoration of Catholic power in England would result in the destruction of those that remained. According to contemporary accounts, in February 1604, Catesby invited Thomas Wintour to his house in Lambeth , where they discussed Catesby's plan to re-establish Catholicism in England by blowing up
9112-410: The State Opening of Parliament, including the monarch's nearest relatives and members of the Privy Council . The senior judges of the English legal system, most of the Protestant aristocracy, and the bishops of the Church of England would all have attended in their capacity as members of the House of Lords, along with the members of the House of Commons . Another important objective was the kidnapping of
9248-538: The Thames. By 4 November, Digby was ensconced with a "hunting party" at Dunchurch , ready to abduct Elizabeth. The same day, Percy visited the Earl of Northumberland —who was uninvolved in the conspiracy—to see if he could discern what rumours surrounded the letter to Monteagle. Percy returned to London and assured Wintour, John Wright, and Robert Keyes that they had nothing to be concerned about, and returned to his lodgings on Gray's Inn Road. That same evening Catesby, likely accompanied by John Wright and Bates, set off for
9384-422: The arts through pieces like Macbeth ( Macbeth 's killing of King Duncan ). In Western Christianity , regicide was far more common prior to 1200/1300. Sverre Bagge counts 20 cases of regicide between 1200 and 1800, which means that 6% of monarchs were killed by their subjects. He counts 94 cases of regicide between 600 and 1200, which means that 21.8% of monarchs were killed by their subjects. He argues that
9520-516: The assent of the new king, Charles II , enacted the Indemnity and Oblivion Act , giving a general pardon to those who had committed crimes during the civil war and interregnum, but the regicides were among those excluded from it. A number fled. Some, such as Daniel Blagrave , fled to continental Europe, while others like John Dixwell , Edward Whalley , and William Goffe fled to New Haven, Connecticut . Those regicides who could be found and arrested were put on trial. Six were found guilty and suffered
9656-472: The best swordsmen of his day, and a man who had taken part with Catesby in the Earl of Essex's rebellion three years earlier. Despite his reservations over the possible repercussions should the attempt fail, Wintour agreed to join the conspiracy, perhaps persuaded by Catesby's rhetoric: "Let us give the attempt and where it faileth, pass no further." Wintour travelled to Flanders to enquire about Spanish support. While there, he sought out Guy Fawkes (1570–1606),
9792-639: The conclusion that he would have to be put to death. On 13 December 1648, the House of Commons broke off negotiations with the King. Two days later, the Council of Officers of the New Model Army voted that the King be moved from the Isle of Wight , where he was prisoner, to Windsor "in order to the bringing of him speedily to justice". In the middle of December, the King was moved from Windsor to St James's Palace , Westminster . The House of Commons of
9928-475: The consequences of a law aimed solely at him, he was taken prisoner by a general he had himself pardoned as emperor. He was executed by firing squad on 19 July 1824. The aftermath of his execution was met with indignation by Mexican royalists . The sentiment of those horrified by the execution was compiled by novelist Enrique de Olavarría y Ferrari in "El cadalso de Padilla:" "Done is the dark crime, for which we will doubtlessly be called Parricides ." Later, after
10064-431: The country for a short time. The King, meanwhile, spent much of the summer away from the city, hunting. He stayed wherever was convenient, including on occasion at the houses of prominent Catholics. Garnet, convinced that the threat of an uprising had receded, travelled the country on a pilgrimage . It is uncertain when Fawkes returned to England, but he was back in London by late August, when he and Wintour discovered that
10200-667: The country's Catholicism. In the English-speaking world , the Douay-Rheims Bible was translated from the Latin Vulgate by expatriate recusants in Rheims, France , in 1582 (New Testament) and in Douai, France in 1609 (Old Testament). It was revised by Bishop Richard Challoner in the years 1749–52. After Divino afflante Spiritu , translations multiplied in the Catholic world (just as they multiplied in
10336-467: The development of territorial state capacity , and the killing of rulers also directly resulted in a more likely loss of territory. And secondly, state capacity, reflected by territorial state capacity, could be hypothesized to have had a restraining effect on interpersonal violence . This would be consistent with Pinker's (2011) view that modern state capacity leads to a reduction in violence, both interpersonal and in terms of military conflict . Before
10472-542: The downfall of the Second Mexican Empire , which saw the reign of Maximilian I of Mexico —a member of the House of Habsburg , which had previously ruled Mexico as New Spain from the 16th to 18th century— the Republican forces of Benito Juarez, with aid from the U.S. and sabotage by Colonel Miguel López, captured and executed him on 19 June 1867. Emperor Maximilian's last words were "…May my blood which
10608-614: The earlier part of that period, to criminal penalties. Catholics formed a large proportion, if not a plurality, of recusants, and it was to Catholics that the term initially was applied. Non-Catholic groups composed of Reformed Christians or Protestant dissenters from the Church of England were later labelled "recusants" as well. Recusancy laws were in force from the reign of Elizabeth I to that of George III , but were not always enforced with equal intensity. The first statute to address sectarian dissent from England's official religion
10744-417: The early 17th century was a warren of buildings clustered around the medieval chambers, chapels, and halls of the former royal palace that housed both Parliament and the various royal law courts. The old palace was easily accessible; merchants, lawyers, and others lived and worked in the lodgings, shops and taverns within its precincts. Whynniard's building was along a right-angle to the House of Lords, alongside
10880-481: The end of the 18th century and freedom of religion was re-established in the mid-19th century (although there were individual cases of Catholic sympathies occurring even in the 17th and 18th centuries). Notable converts were Christina, Queen of Sweden , daughter of Gustavus Adolphus ; and Sigrid Undset , Nobel Prize-winning author of Kristin Lavransdatter . The number of ethnic Swedes who are Roman Catholic
11016-476: The established Church of England, Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden , was a member of a particularly conspicuous and determinedly Catholic family in Warwickshire . Some scholars also believe there is evidence that several members of Shakespeare's family were secretly recusant Catholics. The strongest evidence is a tract professing secret Catholicism signed by John Shakespeare , father of the poet. The tract
11152-580: The family's northern estates. About 1600–1601 he served with his patron in the Low Countries . At some point during Northumberland's command in the Low Countries, Percy became his agent in his communications with James I. Percy was reputedly a "serious" character who had converted to the Catholic faith. His early years were, according to a Catholic source, marked by a tendency to rely on "his sword and personal courage". Northumberland, although not
11288-405: The fate of being hanged, drawn and quartered : Thomas Harrison , John Jones , Adrian Scrope , John Carew , Thomas Scot , and Gregory Clement . The captain of the guard at the trial, Daniel Axtell , who encouraged his men to barrack the King when he tried to speak in his own defence, an influential preacher, Hugh Peters , and the leading prosecutor at the trial, John Cook , were executed in
11424-532: The future king would guarantee the safety of English Catholics. The first meeting between the five conspirators took place on 20 May 1604, probably at the Duck and Drake Inn, just off the Strand , Thomas Wintour's usual residence when staying in London. Catesby, Thomas Wintour, and John Wright were in attendance, joined by Guy Fawkes and Thomas Percy. Alone in a private room, the five plotters swore an oath of secrecy on
11560-719: The growing religious divide by introducing the Elizabethan Religious Settlement , which required anyone appointed to a public or church office to swear allegiance to the monarch as head of the Church and state. The penalties for refusal were severe; fines were imposed for recusancy , and repeat offenders risked imprisonment and execution. Catholicism became marginalised, but despite the threat of torture or execution, priests continued to practise their faith in secret. Queen Elizabeth, unmarried and childless, steadfastly refused to name an heir. Many Catholics believed that her Catholic cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots ,
11696-497: The gunpowder stored in the undercroft had decayed. More gunpowder was brought into the room, along with firewood to conceal it. The final three conspirators were recruited in late 1605. At Michaelmas , Catesby persuaded the staunchly Catholic Ambrose Rookwood to rent Clopton House near Stratford-upon-Avon. Rookwood was a young man with recusant connections, whose stable of horses at Coldham Hall in Stanningfield , Suffolk
11832-428: The intention of actually killing the king or queen. According to Poole (2000), the actions and utterances of English figures such as Nicholson, Firth, Sutherland, Hadfield, Collins, Oxford, Francis and Bean, all of whom tried to get the monarch's attention for some matter, "point more often to physical remonstance after experiences of extreme frustration with an ineffectual petitioning process." Others who did try to kill
11968-470: The kingdom, including the Arundells , Blundells , Cliffords , Erringtons , Gillows , Haydocks , Petres , Ropers , Shireburns , Smythes , Stourtons , Throckmortons , Vaughans and Vavasours . The Acton (also known as Dalberg-Acton and Lyon-Dalberg-Acton) family is another well-known recusant family. Although William Shakespeare (1564–1616) and his immediate family were conforming members of
12104-466: The law", and believed that exile was a better solution than capital punishment : "I would be glad to have both their heads and their bodies separated from this whole island and transported beyond seas." Some Catholics believed that the martyrdom of James's mother, Mary, Queen of Scots , would encourage James to convert to the Catholic faith, and the Catholic houses of Europe may also have shared that hope. James received an envoy from Albert VII , ruler of
12240-420: The most likely reasons for the decline in regicide is that clear rules of succession were established, which made it hard to remove rightful heirs to the throne, and only made it so that the nearest heir (and their backers) had a motive to kill the monarch. There is evidence that regicide and the ability of states to keep or even expand their territories are negatively correlated: Firstly, elite violence hindered
12376-443: The pair that he had not written the letter, but urged them to abandon the plot. Salisbury was already aware of certain stirrings before he received the letter, but did not yet know the exact nature of the plot, or who exactly was involved. He therefore elected to wait, to see how events unfolded. The letter was shown to the King on the first of November following his arrival back in London. Upon reading it, James immediately seized upon
12512-474: The people". He then gave a brief speech outlining his unchanged views of the relationship between the monarchy and the monarch's subjects, ending with the words "I am the martyr of the people". His head was severed from his body with one blow. One week later, the Rump, sitting in the House of Commons, passed a bill abolishing the monarchy. Ardent Royalists refused to accept it on the basis that there could never be
12648-542: The persecution of Catholics, as some had hoped for, several members of the clergy (including two anti-Jesuit priests) decided to take matters into their own hands. In what became known as the Bye Plot , the priests William Watson and William Clark planned to kidnap James and hold him in the Tower of London until he agreed to be more tolerant towards Catholics. Cecil received news of the plot from several sources, including
12784-558: The plight of England's Catholics required that it be done. Catesby also apparently asked for £2,000, and the use of Rushton Hall in Northamptonshire . Tresham declined both offers (although he did give £100 to Thomas Wintour), and told his interrogators that he had moved his family from Rushton to London in advance of the plot; hardly the actions of a guilty man, he claimed. The details of the plot were finalised in October, in
12920-562: The plot from the King, who was busy hunting in Cambridgeshire and not expected back for several days. Monteagle's servant, Thomas Ward, had family connections with the Wright brothers, and sent a message to Catesby about the betrayal. Catesby, who had been due to go hunting with the King, suspected that Tresham was responsible for the letter, and with Thomas Wintour confronted the recently recruited conspirator. Tresham managed to convince
13056-488: The plot's failure, an armed struggle was still a real possibility. He announced to Digby's "hunting party" that the King and Salisbury were dead, before the fugitives moved west to Warwick. In London, news of the plot was spreading, and the authorities set extra guards on the city gates , closed the ports, and protected the house of the Spanish Ambassador, which was surrounded by an angry mob. An arrest warrant
13192-410: The plotters had originally planned for, Parliament would not sit again until 3 October 1605. The contemporaneous account of the prosecution claimed that during this delay the conspirators were digging a tunnel beneath Parliament. This may have been a government fabrication, as no evidence for the existence of a tunnel was presented by the prosecution, and no trace of one has ever been found. The account of
13328-549: The plotters left London and returned to their homes. The conspirators returned to London in October 1604, when Robert Keyes , a "desperate man, ruined and indebted", was admitted to the group. His responsibility was to take charge of Catesby's house in Lambeth, where the gunpowder and other supplies were to be stored. Keyes's family had notable connections; his wife's employer was the Catholic Lord Mordaunt . He
13464-559: The priest on his pilgrimage, and the two men were reportedly close friends. Digby was asked by Catesby to rent Coughton Court near Alcester . Digby also promised £1,500 after Percy failed to pay the rent due for the properties he had taken in Westminster. Finally, on 14 October Catesby invited Francis Tresham into the conspiracy. Tresham was the son of the Catholic Thomas Tresham , and a cousin to Robert Catesby;
13600-414: The publication of De rege , until the 1620s, some English Catholics believed that regicide was justifiable to remove 'tyrants' from power. Much of the "rather nervous" political writing from James I was "concerned with the threat of Catholic assassination and refutation of the [Catholic] argument that 'faith did not need to be kept with heretics '". In the absence of any sign that James would move to end
13736-527: The punishment "should fit the crime", and should thus be proportionate and not extreme. This approach was spoofed by Gilbert and Sullivan , when The Mikado sang, " My object all sublime, I shall achieve in time, to let the punishment fit the crime ". In common with earlier executions for regicides: In both the François Ravaillac and the Damiens cases, court papers refer to the offenders as
13872-694: The reformed Church of Ireland and the dissenting churches, remaining loyal to the Roman Catholic Church, suffering the same penalties as recusants in Great Britain . The situation was exacerbated by land claims, paramilitary violence, and ethnic antagonisms on all sides. Recusancy in Scandinavia is not considered to have survived much past the period of the Liturgical Struggle until anti-Catholicism lessened towards
14008-575: The regicide was tortured so as to make him tell the names of his accomplices. However, the method of execution itself was a form of torture. Here is a description of the death of Robert-François Damiens , who attempted to kill Louis XV : He was first tortured with red-hot pincers; his hand, holding the knife used in the attempted murder, was burnt using sulphur; molten wax, lead, and boiling oil were poured into his wounds. Horses were then harnessed to his arms and legs for his dismemberment. Damiens' joints would not break; after some hours, representatives of
14144-418: The remaining Catholic territories in the Netherlands after over 30 years of war in the Dutch Revolt by English-supported Protestant rebels. For the Catholic expatriates engaged in that struggle, the restoration by force of a Catholic monarchy was an intriguing possibility, but following the failed Spanish invasion of England in 1588 the papacy had taken a longer-term view on the return of a Catholic monarch to
14280-481: The representatives of the people, the House of Commons, as the source of all just power. Charles was then escorted through a window of the Banqueting House in the Palace of Whitehall to an outdoor scaffold where he would be beheaded. He forgave those who had passed sentence on him and gave instructions to his enemies that they should learn to "know their duty to God, the King – that is, my successors – and
14416-473: The restoration as regicides. The Parliamentary Archives in the Palace of Westminster, London, holds the original death warrant for Charles I. Some people throughout in the 1760–1850 period in England and Great Britain who have been suspected, arrested, and perhaps punished for trying to lethally harm the reigning monarch, which has sometimes been understood to be attempted "regicide", do not appear to have had
14552-487: The ringing of church bells, which evolved into the British variant of Bonfire Night of today. Between 1533 and 1540, King Henry VIII took control of the English Church from Rome, the start of several decades of religious tension in England. English Catholics struggled in a society dominated by the newly separate and increasingly Protestant Church of England . Henry's daughter, Queen Elizabeth I , responded to
14688-400: The ruler did so not in order to replace the monarchy with a republic, but because they hoped that their successor would be a better ruler, and able to address certain issues which, in the would-be assassins' views, the current sovereign failed to properly act on. According to British radical orator John Thelwall (1764–1834), regicide was simply a means of replacing an unacceptable monarch with
14824-400: The same road. Reunited, the group continued northwest to Dunchurch, using horses provided by Digby. Keyes went to Mordaunt's house at Drayton . Meanwhile, Thomas Wintour stayed in London, and even went to Westminster to see what was happening. When he realised the plot had been uncovered, he took his horse and made for his sister's house at Norbrook, before continuing to Huddington Court . On
14960-520: The seal of the confessional, and that canon law therefore forbade him to repeat what he had heard. Without acknowledging that he was aware of the precise nature of the plot, Garnet attempted to dissuade Catesby from his course, to no avail. Garnet wrote to a colleague in Rome, Claudio Acquaviva , expressing his concerns about open rebellion in England. He also told Acquaviva that "there is a risk that some private endeavour may commit treason or use force against
15096-480: The sentence of death, all of the Commissioners who were present rose to their feet. On the day of his execution, 30 January 1649, Charles dressed in two shirts so that he would not shiver from the cold, lest it be said that he was shivering from fear. His execution was delayed by several hours so that the House of Commons could pass an emergency bill to make it an offence to proclaim a new King, and to declare
15232-415: The surviving conspirators, including Fawkes, were convicted and sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered . Some details of the assassination attempt were allegedly known by the principal Jesuit of England, Henry Garnet . Although Garnet was convicted of high treason and put to death, doubt has been cast on how much he really knew. As the plot's existence was revealed to him through confession , Garnet
15368-452: The two had been raised together. He was also the heir to his father's large fortune, which had been depleted by recusant fines, expensive tastes, and by Francis and Catesby's involvement in the Essex revolt. Catesby and Tresham met at the home of Tresham's brother-in-law and cousin, Lord Stourton . In his confession, Tresham claimed that he had asked Catesby if the plot would damn their souls, to which Catesby had replied it would not, and that
15504-748: The whole State and Kingdom of England. And for the effecting of this, there was placed under the Parliament House, where the king should sit, some 30 barrels of powder, with good store of wood, faggots, pieces and bars of iron. Extract of a letter from Sir Edward Hoby ( Gentleman of the Bedchamber ) to Sir Thomas Edwards, Ambassador at Brussells [ sic ] The group of six conspirators stopped at Ashby St Ledgers at about 6 pm, where they met Robert Wintour and updated him on their situation. They then continued on to Dunchurch, and met with Digby. Catesby convinced him that despite
15640-408: The wickedness of this time. And think not slightly of this advertisement, but retire yourself into your country where you may expect the event in safety. For though there be no appearance of any stir, yet I say they shall receive a terrible blow this Parliament; and yet they shall not see who hurts them. This counsel is not to be condemned because it may do you good and can do you no harm; for the danger
15776-469: The word "blow" and felt that it hinted at "some strategem of fire and powder", perhaps an explosion exceeding in violence the one that killed his father, Lord Darnley , at Kirk o' Field in 1567. Keen not to seem too intriguing, and wanting to allow the King to take the credit for unveiling the conspiracy, Salisbury feigned ignorance. The following day members of the Privy Council visited the King at
15912-579: Was a branch of the Welds from Shropshire who migrated via London to Oxfordshire and Dorset . The three sons of Sir John Weld (1585–1622), founder of the Weld Chapel in Southgate , all married into recusant families and were technically "converts" in the 1640s. The eldest, Humphrey , began a lineage, referred to as the "Lulworth Welds". They became connected by marriage to Catholic families across
16048-596: Was about to happen. Several of the conspirators expressed worries about the safety of fellow Catholics who would be present in Parliament on the day of the planned explosion. Percy was concerned for his patron, Northumberland, and the young Earl of Arundel 's name was brought up; Catesby suggested that a minor wound might keep him from the chamber on that day. The Lords Vaux, Montagu , Monteagle , and Stourton were also mentioned. Keyes suggested warning Lord Mordaunt, his wife's employer, to derision from Catesby. On Saturday 26 October, Monteagle (Tresham's brother-in-law) arranged
16184-503: Was an important factor in his enlistment. His parents, Robert Rookwood and Dorothea Drury , were wealthy landowners, and had educated their son at a Jesuit school near Calais . Everard Digby was a young man who was generally well liked, and lived at Gayhurst House in Buckinghamshire . He had been knighted by the King in April 1603, and was converted to Catholicism by Gerard. Digby and his wife, Mary Mulshaw , had accompanied
16320-421: Was announced by a proclamation from Cecil on 24 March, which was generally celebrated. Leading papists, rather than causing trouble as anticipated, reacted to the news by offering their enthusiastic support for the new monarch. Jesuit priests, whose presence in England was punishable by death, also demonstrated their support for James, who was widely believed to embody "the natural order of things". James ordered
16456-408: Was arrested and charged with attempting to blow up Parliament on 5 November 1605. The plot was uncovered and most of the plotters, who were recusants or converts, were tried and executed. The term "recusancy" is primarily applied to English, Scottish, and Welsh Catholics, but there were other instances in Europe. The vast majority of native Irish , while subject to the British crown , rejected both
16592-594: Was assassinated by Italian-American anarchist Gaetano Bresci on the evening of 29 July 1900 in Monza . Bresci claimed he wanted to avenge the people killed in Milan in the course of the Bava Beccaris massacre . Regicide has particular resonance within the concept of the divine right of kings , whereby monarchs were presumed by decision of God to have a divinely anointed authority to rule. As such, an attack on
16728-716: Was enacted in 1593 under Elizabeth I and specifically targeted Catholics, under the title "An Act for restraining Popish recusants". It defined "Popish recusants" as those convicted for not repairing to some Church, Chapel, or usual place of Common Prayer to hear Divine Service there, but forbearing the same contrary to the tenor of the laws and statutes heretofore made and provided in that behalf. Other Acts targeted Catholic recusants, including statutes passed under James I and Charles I , as well as laws defining other offences deemed to be acts of recusancy. Recusants were subject to various civil disabilities and penalties under English penal laws , most of which were repealed during
16864-692: Was executed by guillotine. The separate 19th century executions of two of Mexico's emperors were carried out by Republicans. After the abolishment of the First Mexican Empire , Agustin I was first exiled and on 11 May 1823, the ex-emperor boarded the British ship Rawlins en route to Livorno, Italy (then part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany), accompanied by his wife, children, and some servants. After Conservative political factions in Mexico finally convinced Agustin I to return, and unaware of
17000-547: Was executed, but James—keen not to have too bloody a start to his reign—reprieved Cobham, Grey, and Markham while they were at the scaffold. Raleigh, who had watched while his colleagues sweated, had been due to be executed a few days later, but was also pardoned. Arbella Stuart denied any knowledge of the Main Plot. However, the two priests, Watson and Clark—condemned and "very bloodily handled"—were executed. The Catholic community responded to news of these plots with shock. That
17136-608: Was found in the 18th century in the rafters of a house which had once been John Shakespeare's and was seen and described by the reputable scholar Edmond Malone . Malone later changed his mind and declared that he thought the tract was a forgery. Although the document has since been lost, Anthony Holden writes that Malone's reported wording of the tract is linked to a testament written by Charles Borromeo and circulated in England by Edmund Campion , copies of which still exist in Italian and English. Other research, however, suggests that
17272-413: Was ideal for what the group planned to do. In the second week of June, Catesby met in London the principal Jesuit in England, Henry Garnet , and asked him about the morality of entering into an undertaking which might involve the destruction of the innocent, together with the guilty. Garnet answered that such actions could often be excused, but according to his own account later admonished Catesby during
17408-430: Was issued against Thomas Percy, and his patron, the Earl of Northumberland, was placed under house arrest. In "John Johnson's" initial interrogation he revealed nothing other than the name of his mother, and that he was from Yorkshire . A letter to Guy Fawkes was discovered on his person, but he claimed that name was one of his aliases. Far from denying his intentions, "Johnson" stated that it had been his purpose to destroy
17544-421: Was mainly intended to give relief to nonconforming Protestants rather than to Catholics, to whom some restrictions applied into the 1920s, through the Act of Settlement 1701 , despite the 1828–1829 Catholic emancipation . In some cases those adhering to Catholicism faced capital punishment , and some English and Welsh Catholics who were executed in the 16th and 17th centuries have been canonised by
17680-505: Was occupied by Scottish commissioners appointed by the King to consider his plans for the unification of England and Scotland, so the plotters hired Catesby's lodgings in Lambeth, on the opposite bank of the Thames, from where their stored gunpowder and other supplies could be conveniently rowed across each night. Meanwhile, King James I continued with his policies against the Catholics, and Parliament pushed through anti-Catholic legislation, until its adjournment on 7 July. Following their oath,
17816-481: Was prevented from informing the authorities by the absolute confidentiality of the confessional . Although anti-Catholic legislation was introduced soon after the discovery of the plot, many important and loyal Catholics remained in high office during the rest of King James I's reign. The thwarting of the Gunpowder Plot was commemorated for many years afterwards by special sermons and other public events such as
17952-461: Was taken to the King early on the morning of 5 November. As news of "John Johnson's" arrest spread among the plotters still in London, most fled northwest, along Watling Street . Christopher Wright and Thomas Percy left together. Rookwood left soon after, and managed to cover 30 miles in two hours on one horse. He overtook Keyes, who had set off earlier, then Wright and Percy at Little Brickhill , before catching Catesby, John Wright, and Bates on
18088-468: Was tall, with a red beard, and was seen as trustworthy and—like Fawkes—capable of looking after himself. In December Catesby recruited his servant, Thomas Bates , into the plot, after the latter accidentally became aware of it. It was announced on 24 December 1604 that the scheduled February re-opening of Parliament would be delayed. Concern over the plague meant that rather than sitting in February, as
18224-548: Was the daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark . Their eldest child, the nine-year-old Henry , was considered a handsome and confident boy, and their two younger children, Elizabeth and Charles , were proof that James was able to provide heirs to continue the Protestant monarchy. James's attitude towards Catholics was more moderate than that of his predecessor, perhaps even tolerant. He swore that he would not "persecute any that will be quiet and give an outward obedience to
18360-574: Was the legitimate heir to the English throne, but she was executed for treason in 1587. The English Secretary of State , Robert Cecil , negotiated secretly with Mary's son and successor, King James VI of Scotland . In the months before Elizabeth's death on 24 March 1603, Cecil prepared the way for James to succeed her. Some exiled Catholics favoured Philip II of Spain 's daughter, Isabella , as Elizabeth's successor. More moderate Catholics looked to James's and Elizabeth's cousin Arbella Stuart ,
18496-873: Was to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament on Tuesday 5 November 1605, as the prelude to a popular revolt in the Midlands during which King James's nine-year-old daughter, Princess Elizabeth , was to be installed as the new head of state. Catesby is suspected by historians to have embarked on the scheme after hopes of greater religious tolerance under King James I had faded, leaving many English Catholics disappointed. His fellow conspirators were John and Christopher Wright , Robert and Thomas Wintour , Thomas Percy , Guy Fawkes , Robert Keyes , Thomas Bates , John Grant , Ambrose Rookwood , Sir Everard Digby and Francis Tresham . Fawkes, who had 10 years of military experience fighting in
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