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Today in History---a little bit of culture..


Tim240z

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Being the colonial sort, my birthday always coincides with Guy Fawkes day.

 

A little history:

November 5th marks the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, a conspiracy to blow up the English Parliament and King James I in 1605. On that day, the king prepared to open Parliament.

It was intended to be the beginning of a great uprising of English Catholics, who were distressed by the increased severity of penal laws against the practice of their religion. The conspirators, who began plotting early in 1604, expanded their number to a point where secrecy was impossible.

 

guyfawkes.gif

The unfortunate conspirator Fawkes appears before his intended victim.

 

The group included Robert Catesby, John Wright, and Thomas Winter, the originators, Christopher Wright, Robert Winter, Robert Keyes, Guy Fawkes, a soldier who had been serving in Flanders, Thomas Percy, John Grant, Sir Everard Digby, Francis Tresham, Ambrose Rookwood, and Thomas Bates.

Brought to Light by Anonymous Letter

 

Percy hired a cellar under the House of Lords, in which 36 barrels of gunpowder, overlaid with iron bars and firewood, were secretly stored. The conspiracy was brought to light through a mysterious letter received by Lord Monteagle, a brother-in-law of Tresham, on October 26, urging him not to attend Parliament on the opening day.

 

The 1st earl of Salisbury and others, to whom the plot was made known, took steps leading to the discovery of the materials and the arrest of Fawkes as he entered the cellar. Other conspirators, overtaken in flight or seized afterward, were killed outright, imprisoned, or executed.

Fireworks, Bonfires in England

 

Among those executed was Henry Garnett, the superior of the English Jesuits, who had known of the conspiracy. While the plot was the work of a small number of men, it provoked hostility against all English Catholics and led to an increase in the harshness of laws against them. Guy Fawkes Day, November 5, is still celebrated in England with fireworks and bonfires, on which effigies of the conspirator are burned.

 

Tim

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yes' date=' in the UK children go around asking door to door for guy fawkes donations, which also coincides with halloween.

 

on a side note, I chuckle when I read Guy FAWKES.

 

oh, and happy birthday, tim :)[/quote']

 

Ya know, Alex....in the 32 years I've been having birthdays on GF day, I have never made that connection: Guy Fawkes (F@#ks)!! Trust you to totally shatter my young innocent mind and perspective!! :D:twisted::P

 

I guess he's lucky Fawkes wasn't his second name, and have a last name like Bob!! ha ha

 

Tim

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i am fully aware of the hatred Osama puts forward, namely going back a millenia to blame king richard's crusaders for slaughtering muslims. But that was a millenia ago. a thousand years ago, for fawkes sake (see how punny I am?)

 

We could get into a huge debate over this, but the difference is that fawkes was trying to make things better for religious tolerances. I don't think Osama was behind WTC to convert the US to Islam.

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tim... let me be the first to say that you have a fantastic set of in-laws!!! hell, i should've married your wife.... :nono:

 

weighing in on the other issue, i think the true difference lies in humanity of intent. where someone like fawkes, che guevara, even the very founders of america itself operate(d) under the theory of rising up against unjust conditions and improving the lives of at least a few, those like hitler, osama, saddam, and others at their core are self-serving sociopaths with little or no regard for the human condition as a whole, and absolutely no belief in the value of human life. i think there's a very fine line between revolutionary and terrorist, but history shows the line to be very clear.

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