Syllabus Edition
First teaching 2016
Last exams 2025
The Gunpowder Plot, 1605: Case Study (Edexcel GCSE History)
Revision Note
Written by: Rosanna Killick
Reviewed by: Bridgette Barrett
The Gunpowder Plot, 1605: Case Study - Timeline
The Gunpowder Plot, 1605: Case Study - Summary
The late 16th and early 17th centuries were periods of intense religious and political instability. The last Tudor monarch, Elizabeth I, was a Protestant. The Pope called on loyal Catholics to depose her. Parliament responded by passing more anti-Catholic laws. Elizabeth I’s death in 1603 led to disputes over the royal succession.
Elizabeth’s cousin, James I, inherited the throne and became the first Stuart king. Catholics hoped that he would give them more freedom to practise their faith. However, because he was a Protestant king, he continued with the anti-Catholic laws. The Catholic Gunpowder Plotters conspired to commit treason. They wanted to assassinate James I and replace him with a Catholic monarch.
The Gunpowder Plot failed, and James I punished the plotters very harshly. He then continued to pass more strict measures against Catholics. He aimed to deter any future Catholic uprisings against the Protestant monarchy.
The Events of the Gunpowder Plot
In 1605, Robert Catesby led a group of Catholics in a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament
The Catholic plotters had two main aims:
To kill the king and other leading Protestants
To replace the king with a Catholic monarch
They wanted to make James’s daughter, Elizabeth, queen
Punishment: Hung, Drawn and Quartered
After Fawkes’s arrest, he was tortured until he
Signed a confession
Shared the names of the other plotters (who had managed to escape)
Government soldiers eventually tracked down the other plotters
They killed some in the fighting that followed, including Catesby
They arrested and tortured the surviving plotters until they confessed
In January 1605, Fawkes and the surviving plotters were tried
They were found guilty of treason and sentenced to death
Between 30th and 31st January, they were publicly hung, drawn and quartered
They were hanged but cut down when they were almost dead
Their bodies were cut open and their intestines were pulled out
Their limbs and heads were cut off
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Many people mistakenly believe that Guy Fawkes and the other Gunpowder Plotters were burned at the stake for their treason. Remember that they were hung, drawn and quartered.
Why was the Punishment for Treason so Harsh in Early Modern England?
In early modern England, the main aims of punishment were deterrence and retribution
The table below shows why these aims made the punishment for treason so harsh
Table of reasons why the punishment for treason was so harsh
Aim of punishment | How the punishment for treason was seen to fulfil this aim |
Deterrence | Punishment for treason took place in public. The authorities thought that, if people could see the dire consequences of treason, they would be put off committing the crime themselves. Harsh punishment was a way to prevent crime in the absence of a police force |
Retribution | Treason was the most serious and worst crime of all. Because of this, it received the most serious and worst kind of punishment |
Worked Example
Give one reason why the punishment for treason was so harsh in early modern England
2 marks
Answers:
Treason was seen as the most serious crime. (1) It therefore earned the most serious and worst kind of punishment, in the form of painful execution (1).
Examiner Tips and Tricks
This question previously asked students to describe two features of a given event. This question was out of four marks. However, as of 2025, Edexcel will split this question into two subsections, asking you to describe a feature of two different events. Each subsection is worth two marks.
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