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1605 |
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The past: 1605, the Gunpowder Plot
The present: November 5, Bonfire Night
Now read and listen to the whole
story, and watch some video clips about it ... |
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400 years ago England was a country where Catholics and Protestants were always arguing, but the power was in Protestant hands since Queen Elizabeth I made her country one of Europe's greatest nations. In 1588 Catholic Spain had tried to invade Britain, but the Armada failed, and the result was a series of anti-Catholic laws: Catholics in England were seen as traitors, friends of the Spaniards, their lands and all their properties were confiscated, and their priests sent out of the country. By that time, the English Catholics had no rights, and the country was living a very tense moment. At the beginning of the 17th century, King James I and his
government -Protestants, of course!!- made the situation even worse,
pestering the Catholics all the time, until
some Catholic conspirators, absolutely fed up with the Protestants, decided to kill the
King and the rest of the Government with a massive explosion
in the Parliament, to prove their power and change History. They were
13, and one of them was called Guido Fawkes. They wanted to blow up the
House of Lords with everybody inside, using barrels of gunpowder. But one of the conspirators realised that the explosion could kill some ex-Catholic Lords, forced to become Protestants if they wanted to keep their status, so he sent an anonymous letter to one of these lords, telling him about this plot. The letter was given to the Prime Minister, who ordered an investigation to be started immediately. As a result of this, Guy Fawkes was discovered near the gunpowder, and he was arrested; he said his name was John Johnson, but he was tortured and he revealed his real name. Soon the rest of the conspirators were arrested, too. They were executed and their dead bodies were next thrown into a bonfire. However, Guy Fawkes died when he broke his neck as he tried to escape from execution. Well, he died just the same. This happened on November 5th,1605 Today, children -and adults!- light enormous bonfires on this night of November 5 and remember the "gunpowder plot" with fireworks in many private gardens or public parks all over Britain. The fireworks are a symbol of the gunpowder they tried to use against the Parliament, and the bonfires symbolize the final punishment of the 13 catholics. Now the English celebrate this peculiar chapter in their History having a great time ... and drinking lots of beer. The children take part in the show as well, because they go door-to-door asking for "a penny for the guy", just as they had done only five days before, asking for "trick or treat". By the way, we now refer to a man as a "guy", and to our friends or people in general as "guys". This word comes -of course!- from Guy Fawkes. Well, it isn't like our Fallas, but it's a nice celebration ... and very, very British!! Would you like to see some clips from Guy Fawkes Night in previous years? Have a look and join in the fun!! A funny one telling you the story And this is the way the British celebrate the 5th of November, with fireworks.... ... and big bonfires And as I've just mentioned, with plenty of beer and fun. So now that you know the story, don't forget these words:
Remember remember the fifth of November
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