The exact origins of The Gunpowder Plot of 5th November 1605 remain unclear, and Guy Fawkes himself was only a minor player in the conspiracy to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Guy Fawkes- real name Guido Fawkes- was born in York in 1570. After his father's death in 1579, his mother Edith remarried into a Catholic family, and it is thought his stepfather was a major influence in his decision to become a Catholic. By the age of 21, Fawkes had joined Catholic forces fighting in the Low Countries, and it was here that he learned his famed skills with explosives. Arguably an attempt to re-establish the Catholic religion, the plot was foiled and Fawkes was caught red-handed. Taken to the Tower of London, Fawkes and his co-conspirators were probably subjected to extensive torture before being tried for high treason. His conviction mandated a rather unpleasant end: he was hung, drawn and quartered.