The Gunpowder Plot - Guy Fawkes
On November 5, 1605, another attempt at regicide came to light: the Gunpowder Plot, motivated by the religious strife between Protestants and Catholics in general and by James' severe measures against Roman Catholics in particular. The plotters, a group of Catholics opposed to the Protestant monarchy, formulated a plan to kill King James I, the royal family, and dozens of government officials. On the night before a ceremony to be held in the Parliament House and to be attended by the English government, including the royal family, an inspection of a cellar found Guy Fawkes, one of the conspirators, waiting in the basement with a match and large amounts of gunpowder. The traitors were tried in court, convicted of treason, and executed on January 30, 1606. One of the conspirators, Robert Catesby, was a nobleman from a distinguished family. His role as a conspirator in the Gunpowder Plot came as a shock to King James I, who regarded Catesby as one of his dearest subjects. Some have speculated that Catesby was the model for Macbeth.