'Remember, remember, the 5th of November...

Gunpowder, treason and plot.'

So goes the old rhyme. This weekend there will be many a firework display (weather permitting) up and down the country, but why?

In 1605 a plot was uncovered which, if successful, would have seen Parliament and King James I (VI of Scotland), blown up. The plot was to be undertaken by a rebel group of provincial Catholics who were led by Robert Catesby.

The idea was to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening on 5 November and this would kickstart revolt in the Midlands. James I's (VI's) daughter would be installed as a Catholic Head of State.

The full list of plotters were:

• John and Christopher Wright
• Thomas and Robert Wintour
• Thomas Percy
• Robert Keys
• Thomas Bates
• John Grant
• Ambrose Rookwood
• Sir Everard Digby
• Frances Tresham
• Guido (Guy) Fawkes

The most famous of the plotters today, after more than 400 years, is Guy Fawkes. Why is it we remember him over the others?

Many of us remember building a 'Guy' to burn on a bonfire as a child and taking him round and asking for 'penny for the Guy'. There were 12 plotters in total though so this seems to be a bit harsh.

Guy Fawkes was born 13 April 1570 and at the age of 8 his father died. His mother married a Catholic and Fawkes converted. He fought for the Catholic Spanish during the 80 years war against the Protestant Dutch. While there he met Robert Catesby. The plotters leased an undercroft beneath the House of Lords and, because of his military experience, Fawkes was put in charge of filling this with gunpowder.

An anonymous letter was sent to William Parker (4th Baron Monteagle) on 26 October 1605 and on the night of 4 November Fawkes was discovered with 36 barrels of gunpowder and was arrested. Over the next few days Fawkes was tortured and gave up the names of his co-conspirators. There followed a stand off and the leader, Catesby, was killed. The surviving 8 were tried on 27 January 1606 and were sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered (not burned at the stake as people think owing to the bonfire night connection). This was a brutal execution that had been long used for high treason in England. It involved the condemned being dragged naked behind a horse to the gallows where they were hung until almost dead (no drop but the condemned stood on a stool or log which was removed and they were slowly strangled rather than breaking the neck), then they were emasculated (had their genitals removed) and were disembowelled before being beheaded and their limbs removed to all be displayed at various places around the city.

Despite anti-Catholic legislation coming in after the plot there were many high profile Catholics who retained high positions in King James I's court. The collapse of the plot was commemorated for years by bell ringing and special sermons and this evolved into Bonfire Night.

The whole thing came about following the break from Rome during the reign of King Henry VIII and the setting up of the Church of England. His son, Edward, became king briefly following Henry's death and carried on the Church of England but he died before he could produce an heir. His half-sister, Mary, was a Catholic and became Queen on his death and it appeared the country could turn back to Catholicism for a time. Following her death her half-sister, Elizabeth, came to the throne. She ruthlessly persecuted Catholics and heavy fines were imposed on them with repeat offenders facing imprisonment or even death.

Elizabeth died without heir having never married. Many Catholics wanted Mary Queen of Scots to succeed her and there had been attempts to oust Elizabeth and put Mary in her place. However, the plot was uncovered and in 1587 Mary was executed. Another favourite among Catholics was Phillip II of Spain's daughter, Infanta Isabella. When it came to it the English Secretary of State, Robert Cecil, negotiated with James VI of Scotland, for him to become heir. He was Elizabeth's second cousin twice removed and so had the strongest claim to the throne. The other selling point was that he already had heirs to the throne, his eldest son Henry, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Charles.

In the beginning James I (VI) was tolerant of Catholics and some Catholics believed that because his mother had been a Catholic he might convert. However, James was concerned at the possibility of a Catholic assassination as there had been attempts on the lives of other rulers in Europe.

There were plots against James early in his reign and pre-dating the Gunpowder Plot. Some members of the clergy wanted to hold him prisoner at the Tower of London until he agreed to be more tolerant towards Catholics. Another plot was to remove the whole family and replace them with Arabella Stuart. Not all of these plotters were executed as James didn't want a bloody start to his reign.

However, on 19 February 1604 James ordered all Catholics and Jesuits to leave the country after he denounced the Catholic Church finding that his wife had been sent a rosary. At this point he set about the establishment of the Anglo-Scottish union. Members of Parliament were not happy about the new members from Scotland and it was the Scottish who were tasked with collecting fines for recusancy. This could be a substantial sum and over 5,500 were convicted in 1605 alone. This angered the Catholics even more.

As stated, the plot was led by Robert Catesby who was of a noble family. He had been involved in uprisings during the reign of Elizabeth but she had pardoned him and let him get away with only a fine. Appeals for support from the King of Spain failed as he wanted peace with James. The plot was supposed to take place in February 1605 but the opening of Parliament was delayed due to the threat of plague. Fawkes then spent the summer filling the undercroft they had purchased with gunpowder.

It is because Fawkes was found 'red-handed' that he is the most well known of all the conspirators, but really the argument could be that he was just a scape-goat. Although they all suffered a terrible fate it is his name that is most well known. Many of the plotters were of noble birth or well connected and Fawkes was a simple Catholic soldier by comparison. It was easy for those delivering the sermons that were given in the years that followed to demonise him. 

Whatever you feel for the plot and the plotters there were changes following the discovery of the plot. Catholics lost whatever freedoms they may have had. Shakespeare incorporated the idea of treason and plot into Macbeth. Interest in the demonic and witchcraft increased following the plot, perhaps showing James I's (VI) paranoia. The celebrations are still undertaken today with bonfires and fireworks (to represent the gunpowder) used early on. Until the mid-1800's this had to be celebrated by law! 

Today the whole thing leaves a nasty taste in the mouth. It seems terribly anti-Catholic and intolerant and it appears to demonise Guy Fawkes in a way that is totally unwarranted as he was a small fish in the larger plot. There are some fun elements to it today as the effigies burnt are not always just Guy Fawkes. The town of Lewes has become famous for burning effigies of hated people and in the past these have included Katie Hopkins, Kim Jong-un (North Korean leader) and Vladamir Putin (Russian President). This year they burned an effigy of British Prime Minister, David Cameron, with a pig's head as it was alleged he did something unsavoury with a dead pig in his university days...

The reasons may be changing, but should a supposedly tolerant nation be celebrating something that is essentially anti-Catholic or has this totally lost its meaning now?