Macbeth and the Gunpowder Plot

 

A WebQuest for English 7

 

Designed by:

Thomas Holman

tholman51@hotmail.com

 

 

The Gunpowder Plot

 

Introduction

In 1605 there was a plot to kill the king and all of the members of parliament. This took place in London, England. In 1606, Shakespeare wrote and produced Macbeth, which dealt with the death of the rightful king. Macbeth makes many references to the Gunpowder Plot, and the play is about the qualities of a good king. You are a member of English society, and you will try to understand the reasons behind the plot. As a devout Catholic, you are worried about punishment from the Church and from the King.   

 

Task

This class will look at the Gunpowder Plot, and the reasons behind it. This class will use www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips.html as a guide. Your group will try to defend the members of the plot and will suggest policies that England could pursue to avoid future uprisings. Your group will use the internet to understand the plot.

 

Process

This class will research the Gunpowder Plot on the internet. The class will be broken into groups of three. Each group will look at the laws in England which led to the Gunpowder Plot, and will suggest public policies that could have prevented this event. The story of the plot is found at http://www.gunpowder-plot.org/history/plot.html. This site will identify the participants of the plot and how it was uncovered.  Further information about the plot is found at http://www.shakespeare.com/Today/0127.html. This site will explain the public policy with regard to the conspirators.  Information about King James’ interest in witchcraft is found at http://www.fordhah.edu/halsall/clareno-ing.h. Once the information is collected, your group will organize the information onto the worksheets provided at http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips/html. Each group will then prepare a two page paper that examines the plot, and then suggests policies that could have been implemented to prevent this from happening again.

 

Evaluation

The evaluation for this project will be based on the paper that is submitted at the end of the term, along with the completed worksheets. There will be one grade for each group. An exemplary grade will be given to the group who addresses all of the concerns of this project, is typed, and well written following the conventions of English and grammar.

 

Conclusion

At the end of this project each group will become familiar with the public policies of Shakespeare’s time that led to a conspiracy to kill the King and his parliament. Each group will also become more familiar with the themes of Macbeth.

 

Credits

The following sources not mentioned above were also used:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall.source/witches1.html

http://www2.roanake.edu/history/Lesson/Witchcraft/links.html

http://www.atomicbooks.com/catalog/death.html

http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/kjgunpow.html

http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/kjmacbet.html

http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/kjmacbe2.html

http://www.Macbeth/Macbeth.html

 

Teachers are advised to monitor each group closely since some of this project discusses torture and execution.

 

 

Worksheet 1: Defining the Social Problem

 

  1. In one or two sentences, state the nature of the social problem that your group plans to study.

This group will be analyzing the social problems that led to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. This conspiracy grew out of the religious intolerance of King James I of England who reinstated harsh penalties against Catholics. Information about the Gunpowder Plot is available at www.encyclopedia.com. Information about web quests is available at http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/tips.html.

 

  1. What is the specific location of your social problem?

The location is London during the 17th century under the rule of King James I. See www.infoplease.com.

 

  1. Three undesirable social condition conditions that resulted from this problem are:
    1. Rebellious groups came into existence.
    2. Religious persecution of the Catholics led to social unrest and anxiety.
    3. Discriminatory and oppressive legislation was at an all time high.

Source: www.encyclopedia.com

 

 

  1. A short phrase that summarizes the social problem and its geopolitical location is that since James had exiled the Jesuits from England, this led to the rise of conspiracy within the Jesuits to regain access to England.

 

 

Worksheet 2: Gathering the Evidence

 

The Problem:

 

The religious persecution of the Catholics by James I led to a conspiracy to overthrow the government.

 

The Evidence:

 

 On the 26th of October 1605, ten days before Parliament was due to sit, an unknown messenger delivered a letter to William Parker, Lord Monteagle at his house in Hoxton, outside London. The “Monteagle Letter” was an attempt to warn Monteagle not to attend the opening of parliament. Monteagle at once delivered the letter to Robert Cecil, James’ Secretary of State. Within hours, word was received by the conspirators that the letter existed.

  Over the next few days, the conspirators played a waiting game. They convinced themselves that the letter had not alerted the government to their plans, and they continued with their plans. On the night of the 4th of November 1605, the day before Parliament was scheduled to open; Guy Fawkes was caught in the cellar beneath the Parliament buildings with enough powder to blow up the entire Parliament. In this cellar were 36 barrels of gunpowder hidden by billets of wood and pieces of iron. He was arrested and brought before the king. Over the next few days, Fawkes was tortured until he revealed the details of the plot.

  In the early hours of 5 November 1605, news spread of Fawkes’ capture. The remaining plotters saddled their horses and left London in twos and threes, except for Francis Tresham, who remained in London. Tresham was later captured and died in the Tower from a urinary tract infection. The core members of the plot were Fawkes, Thomas Percy, Thomas Wintour, John Wright, and Robert Catesby. Everyone was apprehended, and executed, except for Robert Wintour and Stephen Littleton, who managed to flee.

  Humphrey Littleton had been a member of the plot, and he provided information that led to the arrest of Father Henry Garnet, Father John Gerard, (both Jesuit priests), John Grant, Sir Everard Digby, Robert Keys, and Ambrose Rookwood. Littleton did this because he believed he would be pardoned if he told the government what they wanted to hear. The government was convinced that the Jesuit priests were the real masterminds behind the plot. The plotters completely denied the involvement of Garnet and his colleagues, but Robert Cecil was still trying to blame the Jesuits as justification for the government’s severe anti-Catholic laws. At his trial, Garnet offered the Doctrine of Equivocation as his defense. This doctrine was the subject of ridicule by the people of London, and Shakespeare made direct reference to it in Macbeth, which was performed in the spring of 1606.

 

http://www.gunpowder-plot.org/history/plot.html

http://www.Macbeth/Macbeth.html

http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/kjmacbet.html

 

 

Worksheet 3: Identifying the causes of the Problem

 

The Gunpowder Plot grew out of the discontent with the treatment of Catholics after Henry VIII split from the church in Rome. Henry was dissatisfied with his wife, Catherine of Aragon, who was unable to produce a male heir. Henry had actually written tracts against Protestantism; but when the Pope refused to grant Henry a divorce, he broke away from the See of Rome, extinguished all papal power in England, and appointed himself as head of the Church of England. This was followed by the Dissolution of the Monasteries, which was a key factor in undermining the English power of the Catholic Church. These Penal Laws, or Poor Laws, grew out of the Reformation and were designed to establish the supremacy of the Church of England. Henry’s Church of England was not initially Protestant, but remained closer to his personal belief of Catholicism.

 

After Henry died, England tossed and turned under the weight of the theological debate. Henry’s successor, his son Edward VI, tried to drive England down the path of Protestantism; however, his sister “Bloody” Mary I attempted to restore England to Catholicism through violent Protestant persecution. When Elizabeth I ascended the throne in 1588, the tide was again reversed, and the Catholics were subject to severe persecution.

 

Elizabeth quickly set upon a course of repression and persecution of Catholics within her own country. Elizabeth turned to the Poor Laws, which were established by her father for the purpose of dismantling the Catholic Monasteries. Poor Laws have been established by many countries to aid the destitute. Under Henry, and later Edward VI, these laws imposed civil disabilities upon those subjects who remained in communion with Rome. Elizabeth I made it impossible for Catholics to hold civil office, and even imposed penalties upon Catholics who continued to recognize the Pope. Fines and prison sentences were dealt to any person who did not attend Anglican services, and Mass was strictly forbidden under threat of severe punishment which could include death.

 

Elizabeth was excommunicated in 1570, which further angered the few Catholics remaining in England. The Spanish Armada, (which was as much about revenge for lost Spanish gold at the hands of the English pirates), only served to intensify the problem. Jesuits were expelled from England in 1585 under penalty of death for treason and harboring or aiding priests was a capital offense. The discovery of the Gunpowder Plot under James I in 1605 only resulted in added severity.  

 

http://www.gunpowder-plot.org/history/plot.html

http://www.bcpl.net/~cbladey/guy/html/maina.html

http://www.gunpowder-plot.org/

http://www.encyclopedia.com/articles/36105InEngland.html

http://www.encyclopedia.com/articlesnew/05516.html

 

 

Worksheet4:  Evaluating existing public policies

 

Your problem (phrase):

 

1.      State one of the major existing policies that attempts to deal with the social problem:

The major existing policy that attempts to deal with this problem is the Penal Laws of England.

 

 

 

2.      What are the advantages of this policy (consider effectiveness, costs, enforcement, and public acceptance): The advantage of this policy is that the country is controlled by a central organization. This makes it easier for the population to accept, and allows for easy implementation.

 

 

 

 

3.      What are the disadvantages of this policy?  Consider effectiveness, costs, enforcement, and public acceptance): The disadvantage of this policy is that it does not allow for disagreement of any kind. It also becomes very difficult for the public, who are tossed about on the sea of political discord.

 

 

 

 

4.      Based on your evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages, should the current policy be totally replaced, strengthened, or improved?  What advantages, if any, from the current policy should be retained?  What disadvantages, if any, should be eliminated?

These policies should never have been allowed to take place in any country. They should have been totally replaced with policies that allow tolerance of each other’s differences. The main advantage of these policies is that they emanate from a central source; this makes it easy to address. The disadvantage of these policies is that thousands of people died who might have been productive members of society.

 

 

Worksheet5:  Developing public policy solutions       

 

Your problem (phrase): The aggressive policies of Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Elizabeth I made it impossible for any kind of religious freedom.    

 

1.  Propose at least three new/original public policy alternatives.  Be sure that all of your public policy alternatives are at the same geopolitical level as your social problem.  Each alternative must specify the actual government or government agency that will carry out the proposed action.  List the proposal that your group considers the most promising first.

 

            1. The Church should operate separately from the State. Papal authority should reside in the hands of the Church, and the government should operate independently. The administrative power of the country should reside in those who are either appointed by the leader, or duly elected officials. 

 

 

 

 

 

            2. A leader of a country shall not demand that the citizens follow any particular faith. Citizens should be allowed to freely choose their faith. To this end, the Secretary of State shall ensure that there are no laws enacted that demand adherence to any particular faith. The opinions of the Secretary shall be monitored by Parliament.          

 

                       

 

                       

 

            3. Any citizen who believes their faith is impinged by the state shall have the right to protest through petitions to the government. To this end, a Royal Commission shall be established to monitor these complaints.

 

 

Worksheet6:  Selecting the best public policy solution

 

Your problem (phrase):  The aggressive policies of Henry VII, Edward VI, and Elizabeth I made it impossible to exercise any kind of religious freedom.                                  

 

 

1.  List the three public policy alternatives from Worksheet 5.  Create a short word or abbreviation to summarize each policy and write it at the end of each policy (see example).

 

1.       Separate the Church from the State.

           

 

 

2. The Secretary of State will ensure that laws are not enacted that force adherence to any faith.             

 

 

3. Citizens shall have the right to protest.            

 

 

2.         Use the format in the example to complete the matrix below:

 

FEASIBILITY ¯                                            EFFECTIVENESS ®

 

HIGH

MEDIUM

LOW

HIGH

 

 

 

MEDIUM

Separation of Church and State

 

 

LOW

 

Citizens shall have the right to protest.

 The Secretary of State will monitor

 

 

3.         Discuss the reasons for your decisions in the matrix.

The most effective policy in this case is the separation of Church and State. This allows government to go about the business of government, while religion is free to act according to its desire. Giving citizens the right to protest is good for citizens, but bad for government. A government needs to have stability in order to operate effectively. Having the Secretary of State monitor sounds like a good idea, but who is to say the Secretary can be trusted?

 

 

 

 

 

4.                  Discuss why your group prefers one alternative over the other two alternatives.

            The separation of Church and State is what Henry VIII should have been pursuing in the first place .This approach has the potential of saving thousands of lives, that were lost to time in the battleground that followed. When Henry took over the reigns of the church he was taking on more that he could really understand. Henry certainly had the power to take over; however, his motives were too personal to be wholly effective for the country.