THE GUNPOWDERPLOT November 5, 1605 Eight years before the attempted Armada invasion, Jesuits were seditiously active plotting the overthrow of the English government. By using different disguises, aliases, and secret codes, to illegally slip in and out of England, Jesuit Robert Parson, in 1580, had led and then later organized a mission to bring other Jesuits into England to engage in a work of subversion. When the invasion failed, these masters of intrigue turned to another bizarre scheme. Known in your encyclopedia under the subject, the "Gunpowder Plot," - thirteen Catholic noblemen and five Jesuits formed a conspiracy devising a plan to explode 36 barrels of gunpowder in the cellar of the House of Lords and kill King James I, and members of Commons as they assembled for the opening of Parliament on 5 November 1605. Their plan was to blow up the Parliament building, and out of the chaos, incite the people into a full insurrection. From a near-by building, an under ground tunnel had been dug to the Parliament building,where they gained access and put in place 36 barrels of gunpowder. But before the date it was to be detonated, the explosives were discovered, leading to the arrest of all those involved. The noblemen, after becoming aware that the plot was known, united together, choosing to resist arrest by fighting. Five were killed in the ensuing battle, with the remaining eight being brought to trial, convicted, and executed. Of the five Jesuits involved, two escaped, one died in prison, and two were convicted and executed. These failures only became minor set-backs to the Jesuits, in their mechanical robot persistence to subdue all for Rome. But to the English government and people, each episode was a harsh and stark reality of the fanatical enemy among them; and the vigilant precautions needed to protect their freedoms from popish rule.