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What was the Gunpowder Plot?

The Gunpowder Plot was a conspiracy by English Catholics to blow up Parliament, the law-making body of Great Britain, while King James I (1566–1625) and government officials were meeting inside. The conspirators planned their attack for November 5, 1605, the day when the king was scheduled to open the first session of Parliament. They hoped to start a mass uprising among English Catholics (followers of a religion headed by a pope and based in Rome, Italy), who had become increasingly alarmed at laws that limited the practice of their religion. Several men began perfecting the plot in 1604. Over a period of several months they hid thirty-six barrels of gunpowder in a cellar underneath the House of Lords, one of the two Parliament buildings (the other is the House of Commons). The plan then called for them to go into the cellar and set fire to the gunpowder on November 5. According to the plan,...

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