“Most Barbarous and Damnable Treason”: The Gunpowder Plot and how it is viewed in the Past and Present

Abstract

This paper will discuss the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 when a group of men plotted to blow up the English House of Parliament. The intended target of the event was King James VI of Scotland and I of England but also present at the time would have been the Queen, their children, members of Parliament, judges, officials and members of the clergy. The plot was discovered the night before it was to be implemented and the conspirators were either caught on site or found elsewhere within a few days. This paper will focus on how the event was viewed at the time by the citizens of England and what language they used to describe the event. This paper will also examine how people in modern times see the event as terrorism and how our views and the words we use to describe the event can be different or the same. This paper will examine primary sources including letters, trial records and sermons which will provide insight into how the event was viewed and what we can learn from this information about the plot. Secondary sources will also be used to provide background information and outline the plot.