In 1605 a plot to blow up Parliament was foiled when Guy Fawkes was caught guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder

historyWikipedia1605 · London, England

In 1605 a plot to blow up Parliament was foiled when Guy Fawkes was caught guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder

the gist

The Gunpowder Plot was a 1605 attempt to assassinate King James VI of Scotland and I of England by a group of English Catholics led by Robert Catesby. They planned to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament on 5 November 1605, and then spark a revolt in the Midlands that would install the king's nine-year-old daughter, Princess Elizabeth, as head of state. Guy Fawkes, who had a decade of military experience, was given charge of the explosives. An anonymous warning letter reached a Catholic MP, Lord Monteagle, who passed it to the authorities. On the night of 4 November, Fawkes was found in a cellar beneath the House of Lords with 36 barrels of gunpowder and arrested.

so what

The plot deepened anti-Catholic laws in England and shaped how the nation marked the day for centuries. Its legacy is still visible in Bonfire Night, which grew out of church bells and sermons that celebrated the plot's failure.

fun fact

The British tradition of Bonfire Night evolved from the commemorations held to celebrate the plot's failure.

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗