C+P Guy Fawkes and Matthew Hopkins

Question 1

GUNPOWDER PLOT EVENTS

When did James VI of Scotland become king of England?
What religion was he and what laws did James introduce?

Answer 1

In 1603, King James VI of Scotland also became King James I of England. James I was a Protestant, but many Catholics hoped that they would be able to worship more freely under his reign.

Question 2

GUNPOWDER PLOT EVENTS

What religion was James and what laws did James introduce?

Answer 2

James was protestant.
In 1604 James I introduced new laws against Catholics. This meant they were treated more harshly than before.

Question 3

GUNPOWDER PLOT EVENTS

What year was the Gunpowder plot?

Answer 3

1605

Question 4

fill in the blanks… GUNPOWDER PLOT EVENTS

In (INSERT DATE) a group of ………….. led by Robert ………….. planned to blow up the Houses of …………….. to kill the ……… and replace him with a Catholic monarch.
Guy Fawkes, one of the ……….. plotters, was given the job of filling a cellar below the Houses of Parliament with about ……….. barrels of gunpowder.

Answer 4

In 1605 a group of Catholics led by Robert Catesby planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament to kill the king and replace him with a Catholic monarch.
Guy Fawkes, one of the 13 plotters, was given the job of filling a cellar below the Houses of Parliament with about 36 barrels of gunpowder.

Question 5

fill in the blanks… GUNPOWDER PLOT EVENTS

However, an anonymous ………. warning about the danger, addressed to Lord ………….. was shown to ………. ……… , the king’s chief minister.
The cellars below the Houses of Parliament were searched and ………… was found and arrested.

Answer 5

However, an anonymous letter warning about the danger, addressed to Lord Monteagle was shown to Robert Cecil, the king’s chief minister.
The cellars below the Houses of Parliament were searched and Fawkes was found and arrested.

Question 6

GUNPOWDER PLOT EVENTS

What happened after Guy Fawkes was arrested?

Answer 6

Fawkes was then tortured at the Tower of London until he shared the names of the other plotters and forced to sign a confession.
The other plotters managed to escape.
However, they were later caught by government soldiers and some, including Catesby, were killed in the fighting that followed.

Question 7

GUNPOWDER PLOT EVENTS

How were the plotters punished?

Answer 7

Guy Fawkes and the plotters who survived the fighting were found guilty of treason and sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered. The beginning of the 17th century was a time of political and religious unrest, and this harsh punishment was used to deter any future rebellions by Catholics.

This meant that they were hanged but were cut down just before the point of death. They then had their bodies cut open and their intestines pulled out. Finally, their limbs and head were cut off.

Question 8

GUNPOWDER PLOT EVENTS

What were the legal changes after the Gunpowder plot?

Answer 8

After the Gunpowder Plot, James I passed stricter measures against Catholics. In 1606, the Popish Recusants Act required Catholics to swear an oath of allegiance to the monarch and they were forced to participate in Church services or pay a fine.

Question 9

WITCH HUNTS

Matthew Hopkins time period?

Answer 9

1645-1647

Question 10

WITCH HUNTS

What was the political upheaval during this time?

Answer 10

Between 1642 and 1651, there was a civil war in England between the Royalists and Parliament over the power of the king and the government. When Parliament’s forces defeated the king’s army, Charles I was executed.

Question 11

WITCH HUNTS

What was the role of the political upheaval and social tensions play in the rise of witchcraft accusations?

Answer 11

The English Civil War led to a period of economic hardship, especially in villages. This increased tensions and distrust within communities. The wealthier villagers were unsettled when the poor asked for help.
This was a period of political upheaval, as friends and family went to war against one another. This unsettled the country and caused an increase in fear and suspicion.

Question 12

What was wicthcraft?

Answer 12

In a historical context, this was thought to be a kind of magic that could be used to cause harm to people or property. Witches were often accused of obtaining their power from the Devil.

Question 13

What evidence shows that witchcraft was taken very seriously?

Answer 13

In 1542, the Witchcraft Act made it a criminal offence.
&
Between 1645 and 1647, approximately 250 accusations of witchcraft came before the authorities in East Anglia.

This was the largest number of accusations that England had experienced in one place over such a short time. It was described as a ‘witch hunt’.

Question 14

How many people were executed for witchcraft between 1645 and 1647?

Answer 14

At least 100 people were executed for witchcraft between 1645 and 1647 in East Anglia.

In all, about 1,000 people were executed for witchcraft between 1542 and 1736.

Question 15

Who was Matthew Hopkins?
When did he begin?

Answer 15

Matthew Hopkins, a lawyer and the self-proclaimed Witchfinder General, was at the centre of these accusations.
Hopkins began searching for witches in East Anglia in 1645 alongside his assistant, John Stearne.

Question 16

How many women did Hopkins find as witches?
What about in Sudbury alone?

Answer 16

Hopkins named as many as 300 women as witches.
There was so much panic that accusations were made against 117 people in Sudbury alone.

He collected ‘evidence’ against them to prove they had used harmful magic against their neighbours or livestock.

Question 17

Who did Hopkins target?

Answer 17

Most of those accused were old women, the poor and the vulnerable. Hopkins would gain confessions from women after keeping them awake and hungry for several days.

Question 18

What role did James I play in the rise in witchcraft?

Answer 18

James I’s fear of witchcraft created panic throughout England. His book Daemonologie (1597) described what people thought of as the horrors of witchcraft, gave reasons for believing in witches and provided instructions on how to run witch trials.
Readers were encouraged to find witches and put them on trial. He influenced wider belief that witchcraft was a crime against the monarch and God.

Question 19

What role did religious changes play in the rise in witchcraft accusations?

Answer 19

It is believed that Protestants in the 17th century feared Catholics and the ‘old’ religion of Catholicism that was still practised throughout Europe. It has been argued that this fear led to them trying to cleanse society by accusing women of witchcraft.

Question 20

Key reasons for decline in accusations?

Answer 20

In the late 17th century, scientific knowledge and the demand for more scientific ideas increased in England.
This period was called the Enlightenment and scientists developed theories based on evidence and experimentation rather than religion and the supernatural.
This increase in scientific ideas led to a decline in the accusations of witchcraft and the last recorded execution in England for witchcraft was in 1716.