History of the English People, Volume V: Puritan England, 1603-1660Green, John Richard
History
History of the English People, Volume V: Puritan England, 1603-1660
Green, John Richard
Great Britain -- History
revolt at the Queen's death, and in seeking for his project the aid of
Spain. He was joined in his plans by two fellow-zealots, Winter and
Wright; but the scheme was still unripe when James peaceably mounted the
throne; and for the moment his pledge of toleration put an end to it.
But the zeal of the plotters was revived by the banishment of the
priests; and the conspiracy at last took the form of a plan for blowing
up both Houses of Parliament and profiting by the terror caused by such
a stroke. In Flanders Catesby found a new assistant in his schemes,
Guido Fawkes, an Englishman who was serving in the army of the Archduke;
and on his return to England he was joined by Thomas Percy, a cousin of
the Earl of Northumberland and a pensioner of the king's guard. In May
1604 the little group hired a tenement near the Parliament House, and
set themselves to dig a mine beneath its walls.
[Sidenote: The Gunpowder Plot.]
As yet however they stood alone. The bulk of the Catholics were content
with the relaxation of the penal laws; and in the absence of any aid the
plotters were forced to suspend their work. It was not till the sudden
change in the royal policy that their hopes revived. But with the
renewal of persecution Catesby at once bestirred himself; and at the
close of 1604 the lucky discovery of a cellar beneath the Parliament
House facilitated the execution of this plan. Barrels of gunpowder were
placed in the cellar, and the little group waited patiently for the
fifth of November 1605, when the Houses were again summoned to assemble.
In the interval their plans widened into a formidable conspiracy. It was
arranged that on the destruction of the king and the Parliament the
Catholics should rise, seize the young princes, use the general panic
to make themselves masters of the realm, and call for aid from the
Spaniards in Flanders. With this view Catholics of greater fortune, such
as Sir Everard Digby and Francis Tresham, were admitted to Catesby's
confidence, and supplied money for the larger projects he designed. Arms
were bought in Flanders, horses were held in readiness, a meeting of
Catholic gentlemen was brought about under show of a hunting party to
serve as the beginning of a rising. Wonderful as was the secrecy with
which the plot was concealed, the family affection of Tresham at the
last moment gave a clue to it by a letter to Lord Monteagle, his
relative, which warned him to absent himself from the Parliament on the
fatal day; and further information brought about the discovery of the
cellar and of Guido Fawkes, who was charged with its custody. The
hunting party broke up in despair, the conspirators, chased from county
to county, were either killed or sent to the block; and Garnet, the
Provincial of the English Jesuits, was brought to trial and executed.
Though he had shrunk from all part in the plot, its existence had been
made known to him by way of confession by another Jesuit, Greenway; and
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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