Very British! Memorable Images 8: Guy Fawkes’ Night
By
Farah Choudhury
Remember, remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder treason and plot
We see no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!
In 1605, Guy Fawkes (also known as Guido) and a group of conspirators attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament to kill the King, James I and the entire Parliament.
The conspirators were angered because King James had been exiling Jesuits from England. The plotters wanted to wrest power away from the king and return the country to the Catholic faith. Today, they would be known as extremists.
However, in an attempt to protect a friend in the House of Lords, one of the group members sent an anonymous letter warning his friend to stay away from the parliament.
The warning letter reached the King, and the conspirators were caught, tortured and executed. Guy Fawkes and his friends had rolled 36 barrels of gunpowder under the Houses of Parliament.
And on 5 November 1982, a group of young English gentlemen (could that be me on the extreme right?) celebrated the Falklands’ Victory and the sinking of the General Belgrano.
