Penny for the guy

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Other Hot Topics due to feature in the coming weeks include the Lord of the Rings, surf safety, the Sun, and cards and packaging.

The idea of celebrating the failure of a terrorist attack on the British Parliament may seem a bit bizarre, but we still do it every year on the 5th of November. This Hot Topic outlines why Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up the Parliament of James I, and collects some websites relevant to Medieval times, and the British Parliament.

Henry VIII separated the English church from the Pope and formed the Church of England (the Anglican church) under the King in the 1500s. British citizens were forced to swear allegiance to the English King and church, not the Catholic church and Pope, on pain of severe and often brutal penalties.

Tension between the English monarchy and Catholics grew under Elizabeth I, who came to power in 1558. Elizabeth imprisoned her Catholic sister Mary Queen of Scots on Mary's return to England, and beheaded her in 1587. This provoked outrage in Europe and the invasion of the (Catholic) Spanish Armada. Catholics were further oppressed in retaliation, and laws were passed which confiscated all lands and rights of those who did not attend Anglican church services. Refusal to swear an oath of allegiance to the monarch as supreme head of the church was made punishable by death.

Guy Fawkes was born a Protestant in York in 1570, but he converted to Catholicism and enlisted with the Spanish army. While in Spain he became convinced that Catholics in England, given an opportunity, would rise up and depose the new King James I, who took the throne on Elizabeth's death in 1603.

Thirty-six barrels of gunpowder were assembled in a cellar under the House of Lords, ready to be exploded on the opening of Parliament on 5 November 1605 when the King and members of parliament would all be present.

On 26 October, a brother-in-law of one of the gunpowder plot conspirators was handed a letter warning him to stay away from the opening. The brother-in-law in turn warned the King, a search uncovered the gunpowder, and Guy Fawkes was arrested.

Guy Fawkes and his conspirators were interrogated and tortured. On the 30th of January 1606, Sir Everard Digby was the first to mount the scaffold, then Robert Wintour, John Grant, and Thomas Bates. Tom Wintour, Guy Fawkes, Ambrose Rookwood and Robert Keyes followed on the 31st.

UK House of Commons
The UK House of Commons has a FAQ section on the gunpowder plot (www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/gunplot.htm).

Tudor history
A professor of modern history at the University of St. Andrews has created a website devoted to his university lecture notes on Tudor England (www.tudors.org/).

The Medieval Technology Pages
The Medieval Technology Pages (http://scholar.chem.nyu.edu/technology.html) provide a vehicle for students to explore the major developments in technology in Medieval Europe. It serves as a database or fact file for students or teachers to access during a study on this period. The site was reviewed on TKI (www.tki.org.nz/r/evaluation/medtech_e.php).

How Parliament Works
This site contains information on the New Zealand government, law, and parliament. It includes information about current political parties, how laws are made, and the election process (www.decisionmaker.co.nz/guide/parliament/index.htm).

Elections New Zealand
This website provides an opportunity to complete an interactive "Virtual Election". You can use MMP's Sainte-Lague formula to work out what would happen if New Zealanders cast their party votes in a particular way. It provides links to related resources, including publications and a glossary of electoral terms (www.elections.org.nz/cgi-bin/elections/generateElection.pl).

British Council and New Zealand Interlink
This is the website of the InterLink project which ran from March to July 1997, linking 12 schools in New Zealand with 12 in Britain. The website describes the student activities and investigations which were part of the project (www.interlink.org.nz/).

Social Studies in the New Zealand Curriculum (www.tki.org.nz/r/socialscience/curriculum/index_e.php) is available on TKI.