Guy Fawkes and Gunpowder

You are standing above the very spot where England's most infamous conspiracy nearly changed history forever. In the early hours of November 5, 1605, royal guards discovered Guy Fawkes in a cellar beneath the House of Lords, surrounded by 36 barrels of gunpowder. Fawkes was a Catholic explosives expert recruited by Robert Catesby, a wealthy nobleman who masterminded the plot. Catesby and 12 conspirators planned to assassinate King James I, his entire family, and every member of Parliament during the State Opening.

Their goal was to trigger a Catholic uprising and install the king's nine year old daughter, Elizabeth, as their puppet ruler. The plot collapsed when Lord Monteagle received an anonymous warning letter telling him to avoid Parliament. He showed it to authorities, who ordered a midnight search of the building. Guards found Fawkes with matches, a fuse, and enough explosives to obliterate the entire Palace of Westminster.

Experts later calculated that no one within 330 feet could have survived the blast. Fawkes was dragged to the Tower and tortured on the rack until his body broke. On January 31, 1606, he was executed in Old Palace Yard, mere steps from the building he tried to destroy. His signature on his confession, barely legible, revealed the extent of his suffering.