GUNPOWDER, TREASON AND PLOT
WHAT A GUY To some, Guy Fawkes was just a would-be murderer; to others, he encapsulated the spirit of protest
BRIDGEMAN IMAGES X1, ISTOCK X1
Protestant England in the first years of the 17th century was not a safe place to be a Catholic. Priests risked their lives by saying Mass in secret, while draconian laws made sure all Catholics were forced to publicly worship in Protestant services and declare their loyalty to the monarch as the head of the church. By the time the Tudor dynasty ended, the country had endured decades of religious division and violence since the creation of the Church of England and any pro-Catholic laws made during the brief reign of Mary I had been expunged. Protestantism was firmly established and Catholics faced persecution, suppression, even death.