Remember, remember the fifth of November

Here is a fine piece on Guy Fawkes day by John Derbyshire. The article ends with some fit comparisons between the Gunpowder Plot and today's Islamic terrorism. On November 5, 1605 Fawkes, a Catholic in a time of horrific persecution of Catholics, attempted to blow up the House of Lords with thirty-odd barrels of gunpowder, while James II was present. Later, the anniversary of Fawkes' attempt became a commemoration day also known as Gunpowder Treason Day or Pope's Day.

Here is an article about the celebration of Guy Fawkes Day in Colonial America, and here is an oath administered to the Jamestown settlers in 1607 which was pretty clearly inspired by the Gunpowder plot and the general anti-Catholic sentiments of the time.