Resources: Quick guide to ... the Gunpowder Plot

Remember, remember with the quick guide.

1. The word terrorism wasn't used 400 years ago. The term came into use in 1795, following the French Revolution. The word apart, events today are strikingly similar to the political climate of 1605. Today the fight is against what the Prime Minister calls a "perverted and poisonous misrepresentation" of Islam. Four hundred years ago it was Roman Catholicism. Throughout the reigns of Elizabeth and James I there were stringent laws and fierce popular resistance to Catholic priests, or "preachers of hate" as today's tabloid press would call them.

2. Laws against Catholics developed over the decades and have lasted until the present day. Catholics were not allowed to vote until the 19th century. Even today the heir to the throne is not legally able to marry a Catholic. It made sense at the time. The possibility of foreign invasion, or of a marriage alliance with Catholic Spain, was real. Catholics' allegiance to the Pope meant they were viewed as unreliable subjects, because of their commitment to an external religious power. That is exactly comparable to the London suicide bombers.