One night in November 1605, a man is discovered underneath England’s Houses of Parliament. And he’s got enough gunpowder with him to reduce it to rubble, with the King, his sons, and the entire government inside it. The Gunpowder plot is an epic tale of adventure and murderous revenge, a detective story complete with secrets, aliases, even an anonymous letter of betrayal. But who was really behind it? What drove the conspirators to attempt such an audacious act of terrorism?

This is a Short History of the Gunpowder Plot.

Written by Kate Simants. With thanks to Jim Sharpe, historian and author of Remember Remember the Fifth of November: Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot.

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