The Gunpowder Plot was a botched attempt to blow up King James I of England and his entire Parliament on November 5, 1605. Guy Fawkes was caught with thirty-six barrels of gunpowder in the cellars beneath Westminster on that fateful midnight of November 4, 1605. He intended to assassinate King James I and blow up the House of Lords at the opening of Parliament, which was set to happen on November 5, 1605.

Robert Catesby organized the plot to end the persecution of Roman Catholics by the English government. After being tortured, Guy Fawkes confessed to being a participant in an English Catholic conspiracy with Catesby and other conspirators hoping to have Catholic leadership overpower the already existing England’s Protestant government.

Furthermore, once caught and tortured, Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators were all tried and sentenced to be executed for treason. On January 31, 1606, a few moments before his execution, Fawkes committed suicide by jumping from a ladder while climbing to the gallows, and as a result, broke his neck and died.

Following the failed Gunpowder Plot, the English government instituted new laws which eliminated Catholic’s rights to vote, among other oppressive restrictions. Nevertheless, in the year 1606, the Parliament established November 5, a day of public thanksgiving. 

Thus, every year on November 5, the British celebrate Guy Fawkes Night, alias Guy Fawkes Day and Bonfire Night. The celebration is to remember the Gunpowder Plot. So, when dusk falls, villagers and city dwellers across Great Britain light bonfires, set off fireworks, and burn the effigies of Guy Fawkes.