Who laid the fuse for the Gunpowder Plot?

Welcome to the History Extra podcast, fascinating historical conversations from the makers of BBC History magazine. From barrels of gunpowder hidden beneath the houses of Parliament to the mysterious Montegal letter, the gunpowder plot of 1605 is one of the most infamous conspiracies in Britain's history. But how did a small group of Catholic gentlemen, led by Robert Catesby and involving the now famous guy Fawkes, come so close to blowing up England's royal and political elite? I'm Danny Byrd, and for this four part history extra series on the gunpowder plot, I'm joined by historian Professor John Cooper from the University of York.

In this first episode, we'll be setting the scene, exploring the political, religious and personal tensions that led to this audacious act of treason. John, during the late 1500s and early 1600s, Catholics in England faced heavy fines, imprisonment, and sometimes execution if they practiced their faith. What was life really like for Catholics at this time under Elizabeth I and then James VI and first? Well it's a very good question and it depends on what your social position was in life, I think.

But the essential truth of this is that to be a Catholic is an outlawed, prohibited kind of existence. This is as a result of the Reformation. And since the arrival of Elizabeth I on the throne, there have been an increasing number of statutes passed through Parliament regulating or effectively prohibiting Catholicism. So controlling the movement of priests, banning the celebration of the Mass in Latin.

We already have this episode, so unlocking it is cheap and permanent: the full transcript (42 minutes, 6,614 words), segment and word-level timestamps, and .txt, .srt, .vtt and word-level JSON downloads, as many times as you like, forever.

No account needed, we create one from your checkout email. With credits it is 1 credit; packs start at 5 episodes for $3.49, and monthly plans are cheaper still.