Were the Gunpowder Plot conspirators planning to force Catholicism on all of England?

Question

Were Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot conspirators fighting just for the right to practice their faith, or did they intend to force Catholicism on all of England?

Answer 1

The leader of the plot, Robert Catesby, together with his four co-conspirators--Thomas Winter, Thomas Percy, John Wright, and Guy Fawkes--were zealous Roman Catholics angered by James's refusal to grant more religious toleration to Catholics. They apparently hoped that the confusion that would follow the murder of the king, his ministers, and the members of Parliament would provide an opportunity for the English Catholics to take over the country.

The plot bitterly intensified Protestant suspicions of Catholics and led to the rigorous enforcement of the recusancy law, which fined those who refused to attend Anglican services. In January 1606 Parliament established November 5 as a day of public thanksgiving. The day, known as Guy Fawkes Day, is still celebrated with bonfires, fireworks, and the carrying of "guys" through the streets.

Answer 2

For several hundred years whenever the parties ruling Britain wanted to enlist the support of the masses they attacked The Catholic Church much in the manner of Modern American Republicans attacking Liberals - - - The Gunpowder Plot was more about Guy Fawkes having a gripe with Parliament and figuring that the best way to get their attention was to literally light a candle under their a r ses. Guy was exercising his right to protest -- -- forcibly on a number of issues but there was no network of Catholics consipiring to reconquer England for Rome. But for centuries Guy Fawkes Day has served as a rallying point for National Unity and a good excuse to blow things up and get drunk.

Peace

(Unless it is Guy Fawkes day, then what the Fawkes,,,((((

Answer 3

Fawkes became the 'set off guy' for the Gunpowder Plot. He'd picked up some adventure with explosives at the same time as struggling with interior the non secular wars on the Continent interior the 1590s, and became the alternative to easily mild the fuses down lower than the residing house of Commons. He became discovered interior the cellar, with the gunpowder. extraordinarily daming info. For what that is properly worth, they had to torture him persistently in the previous he'd provide up the names of the different conspirators.

Answer 4

It is hard to discern precisely the intentions of those lost to history, but one can surmise that the answer to your question is they were probably trying to accomplish both. Most of us have internalized a sense of English history in which Catholicism is seen as a dark and maelevolent aggressor hell bent on domination. This is often termed as the "whig" reading of English history and it is reveals more about the power of propaganda than truth. Henry VIII committed a notorious act of cultural genocide when he seized control of not only the assets of the Catholic Church in England, but he also had the audacity to bend the belief and practice of Catholic Christianity in England to satisfy the demands of his will. He was a tyrant, not a reformer, and a forerunner of all those absolutist ideologies of government and nation states that afflict the world to this very day. This set in motion, understandably, a great deal of resentment and resistance-- some of it violent, some of it heroic, most of it tragic. Further, it precipitated the reactionary stance towards Catholicism and Protestantism evident in his heirs-- Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth, and in many respects the near total dissolution of Christianity in England.
The Catholic Faith is not just a "religion" but a culture, and due to the actions of Henry VIII and others, it was a culture that was forced on the defensive and fighting for it survival. If members of this culture were forced underground and then resorted to violence, it was because of the actions and policies of the English monarch and his government. There would have been many Catholics in England who would have been content with simply the freedom to practice their way of life in peace, others who wanted the restoration of the relationship of the culture of the Catholic Faith as it existed prior to Henry VIII, and still other, like Guy Fawkes and his conspirators, who probably wanted revenge for years of oppression and intimidation.
Whatever their motives, the conspiracy was a disaster for Catholicism in England, as it seemed to confirm the propaganda about the Catholic Church that had been circulating for years. The condition of Catholics in England was not helped by Fawkes and his men, but it dramtically worsened. And for years, the "whig" version of the history of the Catholic Faith in England prevailed. It is in recent years that this reading of history is being challenged. A good example of this re-consideration is found in the historian Eamon Duffy's book "The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England 1400-1580" and Diarmaid MacCulloch's book entitled "The Reformation: A History."

Answer 5

for the most part you've answered your own question --- whether they would have achieved absolute closure in their quest ; is highly unlikely --- but history has taken it's course .

Answer 6

NO! they were the only politioners to go into parliament
with the right intentions. i.e. TO BLOW IT UP!