Why did Guy Fawkes want to blow up the houses of Parliament?

In this lesson, we will learn why Guy Fawkes wanted to blow up the houses of Parliament. You will hear and map the story of the Gunpowder Plot. We will learn about when and why the conspirators attempted to kill King James I and what happened to Guy Fawkes afterwards.

Why did Guy Fawkes want to blow up the houses of Parliament?

In this lesson, we will learn why Guy Fawkes wanted to blow up the houses of Parliament. You will hear and map the story of the Gunpowder Plot. We will learn about when and why the conspirators attempted to kill King James I and what happened to Guy Fawkes afterwards.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Guy Fawkes was a member of a group of plotters who wanted to kill King James whilst he was in the Houses of Parliament.
  2. The plotters were angry at the king and the government and wanted the government to change some laws that they did not like.
  3. The group felt that the government was treating Catholics unfairly and they wanted to rebel against what they felt was unfair treatment.
  4. Guy Fawkes and the other Catholics involved in the plot were angry about having to practise their religion in secret and they wanted this to change.

Licence

This content is made available by Oak National Academy Limited and its partners and licensed under Oak’s terms & conditions (Collection 1), except where otherwise stated.

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3 Questions

Q1.
King James I was a _________.
Catholic.
Correct answer: Protestant.
Q2.
Guy Fawkes was a ___________.
Correct answer: Catholic.
Protestant.
Q3.
What did Guy Fawkes want to do?
He wanted to become king.
Correct answer: He wanted to blow up the houses of Parliament.

Lesson appears in

UnitHistory / Why do we celebrate bonfire night?

History