Remember, remember, the 5th of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, 'twas his intent
To blow up the King and the Parliament
Three score barrels of powder below
Poor old England to overthrow
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match
Holler boys, holler boys, let the bells ring
Holler boys, holler boys
God save the King!
5 comments:
The last honest man to enter Parliament, they say...
LOL - Yes, I've heard that one!
He was definitely a terrorist as we define it today (but then so were at least *some* of the Suffragettes). Was he/they justified in their act(s). That's a very good question. If the Plot had succeeded it wouldn't have freed the Catholics by a LONG way. The backlash would've been totally horrendous....
Catholics did gain Rights over the subsequent centuries, so you *could* say that the attempt on Parliament & the King was ultimately pointless.
I dislike the term 'terrorist' almost as much as I dislike 'fascist' because it tends to be a label of convenience. My functional definition is the use of violence to foment fear and manipulate change -- which would encompass many military operations! Ted Kaczynski was a terrorist because he specifically engaged in his later bombings to prompt the news media to publish his manifesto, but a deliberate assassination could be more about the actual practical effect of that and not creating fear or trying to manipulate other forces.
Personally, as despotic as bloody Bess was, I can't condone the destruction of a beautiful place just for a political point. Lately I've been watching Parliamentary clips on youtube. Lots of interesting characters like Bercow.
Well, a pretty good working definition (apparently there isn't a completely agreed upon one) is "The use of violence or of the threat of violence in the pursuit of political objectives through criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public." But, as with most definitions there are always exceptions and caveats.
The Houses of Parliament Fawkes tried to blow up isn't the same as the one in place today. That was a much later build. I did see a documentary thing years ago when someone resolved to find out if the gunpowder used would have actually destroyed the building. They built a full sized replica put barrels of gunpowder in the basement and lit the fuse. The subsequent explosion COMPLETELY totalled the building and would've killed everyone inside.
Oh, there's definitely lots of interesting 'characters' in Parliament! [lol]
I need to do a history of Parliament next RoE to get a better grasp on all that!
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