Catesby, Robert
Name: Robert Catesby
Achievements: Leader of the Gunpowder Plot, a Roman Catholic conspiracy blow up King James I and the English Parliament on 5th November 1605.
Born: 1573; Lapworth, Warwickshire, England.
Died: November 8, 1605; Holbeche House, Staffordshire, England (Aged 32)
Field & Discipline: Politics; Conspirator; Revolutionary
Language: English
Father: Sir William Catesby
Mother: Anne Throckmorton
Siblings: William (elder brother who died in infancy)
Spouse: Catherine Leigh
Children: William (died in infancy); Robert (later married daughter of Thomas Percy)
Education: Gloucester Hall, now Worcester College, University of Oxford (1586)
Life & Times:
Catesby was not only a strong Catholic, but also a rich, influential and popular member of the aristocracy, despite England being strongly Protestant. His first brush with the law was in 1596, at a time when Queen Elizabeth was ill. Due to her unstable health, the government thought it wise to arrest and imprison Catesby in the Tower of London, along with Francis Tresham and John and Christopher Wright. This was a precaution to prevent them from starting a Catholic revolution if the Queen died. Elizabeth then she regained her health and the men were released.
Around this time, the Protestant Robert Devereux, the [joined rebellion by] Earl of Essex*, left his position in Ireland without permission, returned to England and as a result, fell out of favor with the Elizabeth. Essex blamed the influence of Robert Cecil and drummed up support among both Catholics and Puritans for his ‘Essex Rebellion,’ claiming that he would establish religious toleration if Cecil were removed from the Council.
A plan to take over the Council was hatched and on 8th February 1601, Catesby left Essex House and joined a rebellion march in the City of London. Their way was blocked and when they returned to Essex House they came under siege and had to surrender to the authorities. Because Catesby had only played a minor role, he escaped conviction, but was required to pay a considerable fine to [fined by] Sir Francis Bacon*.
The following year, Catesby was involved in the Spanish Treason, with Monteagle, Francis Tresham and Father Henry Garnet. They had sent fellow plotters to Spain to encourage the Spanish to invade England. This failed, and Catesby was arrested. Three days later, Queen Elizabeth died and James I became King. Catesby was released.
James I was tolerant of Catholics during the first six months of his reign, but Cecil gave him proof of Catholic conspiracies against the crown and James’s attitude changed.
On 28th January 1604, fines for non-attendance at Protestant Church of England services were re-imposed for all Catholics, back-dated by thirteen months. On 10th February, the 16th Century anti-Catholic laws were re-enforced and, on 22nd February, all Catholic priests were banished from the country.
James I then introduced a bill to the House of Commons removing obligations to pay debts owed to Catholics, or to pay rent for Catholic-owned land. The bill also removed all protection of the law from Catholics. Almost immediately, Catesby organized his 'Gunpowder Plot' to blow up the Parliament when King James and his family went to Westminster to open the House of Lords.
Before he put the plot into action, Catesby sent to Flanders to ask Juan de Valesco, the Constable of Castile, to demand Catholic liberty as part of a peace treaty between England and Spain. This attempt failed miserably, but Catesby’s messenger met [plotted with] Fawkes*, an English soldier and devoted Catholic, and the two returned to London together.
Fawkes joined Catesby and the others their plot and, in 1604, they rented a tenement adjoining the Houses of Parliament. The following year, a tenement cellar, beneath the House of Lords, became vacant and the conspirators rented it. Fawkes set up barrels of gunpowder, hidden under iron bars and logs of wood, and the destruction of Parliament was scheduled for 5th November 1605.
Parliament got wind of the conspiracy from an anonymous letter, and at midnight on 4th November, Fawkes was arrested in the cellars. Catesby left London on horseback, along with the rest of the conspirators. Fawkes was detained at the Tower and tortured until he informed on his colleagues.
On the evening of 7th November, the escape party reached Holbeach, on the borders of Staffordshire, but by the following morning, government troops had surrounded Holbeach House and their commander, Sir Richard Walsh, ordered the rebels to surrender. Catesby and his fellow conspirators refused to surrender, so the troops attacked the house and Catesby was shot dead. The rest of the conspirators were tried and found guilty of treason on 27th January 1606. They were hanged, drawn and quartered four days later.
Assessment: His failed Gunpowder Plot further weakened the position of Catholics in England.
Oneliner: Robert Catesby, of the Gunpowder Plot
Bibliography:
- Haynes, Alan, The Gunpowder Plot, London: 1994.