The King and the Plotters
What do you already know about the Gunpowder Plot?
The King
James I became King of England in 1603. Before this he was already King of Scotland. His cousin, Queen Elizabeth I had been Queen before him, but with no children of her own she did not have a direct heir to the throne when she died. Both Elizabeth I and James I made life very difficult for Catholics living in England. When Elizabeth died and James became King, the Catholics had hoped he would be kinder to them, because his mother was a Catholic, but he wasn’t and very quickly some Catholics got very upset and felt something needed to be done!
James I was a Protestant and didn’t want the Catholic Church to have any power in England. People weren’t allowed to be Catholics in England and were made to go to the Protestant churches instead. If anyone was caught practising the Catholic religion they would be in trouble and fined.
The Plotters
Many Catholics were angry at the way they were being treated in England. A group of men decided enough was enough!
They wanted James I replaced with his daughter, who was a Catholic. In order to do this, they felt they needed to kill the King and his Parliament and start from scratch with new leadership that would support the Catholics.
A man called Robert Catesby led this plot to kill the king. Together with 13 other men, including Guy Fawkes, they came up with a plan.
