November 5 is an annual commemoration to observe Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire
Night, Firework Night and Gunpowder
Treason Plot Day.
Guy Fawkes Night originates
from the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when a small group of
English Catholics, led by Robert
Catesby, who planned to assassinate the Protestant King
James and replace him with his daughter, third in the line of
succession, Princess Elizabeth.
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| Guy Fawkes |
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| A contemporary engraving by Crispijn van de Passe. |
Although there were 13 conspirators
involved in this failed conspiracy it is Guy [Guido] Fawkes who has become the iconic face of
the plot through the years. Today Guy Fawkes is commemorated as
"the last man to enter Parliament with honest intentions".
This day is celebrated primarily in Great
Britain, it was exported by settlers to colonies around the world,
including members of the Commonwealth of Nations such as Australia,
New Zealand, Canada and various Caribbean nations.
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| Bonfires are lit in Britain every 5th of November to commemorate the failure of the plot. |
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| Spectators watch a Nov 5 fireworks display. |
In parts of North America it was known as Pope Day, celebrated mainly
in colonial New England, but also as far south as Charleston.
Although American colonists stopped its observation, in the 1880s
bonfires were still being lit in some New England coastal towns but no longer
to commemorate the failure of the Gunpowder Plot.
In areas around New
York, stacks of barrels were burnt on election day eve, which after
1845 was a Tuesday early in November.
Effigies of other notable figures who have become targets for the
public's ire, such as Richard Nixon, Paul
Kruger and Margaret
Thatcher have been burned as well.
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| Protesters wearing Guy Fawkes masks at a protest against Scientology in London 2008 |
According to historian Lewis Call,
Fawkes is now "a major icon in modern political culture" whose face
has become "a potentially powerful instrument for the articulation of
postmodern anarchism."
This is exemplified by the mask worn by V in the comic
book series V for Vendetta, who fights against a fictional fascist English
state.
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| Collectors edition cover, art by David Lloyd |
V for Vendetta is a graphic
novel written by Alan Moore and
illustrated by David Lloyd (with additional art by Tony
Weare), published by Vertigo, an imprint of DC Comics.
Warner
Bros. released a film adaptation of the same title in 2006.
"Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot..."
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| Anonymous (2013) by anonymous |
"Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot..."
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