The Gunpowder Plot can be said to be a very important point in British religious history. At the end of the 16th century, the Catholic forces in England were in grave danger of extinction.
Under Elizabeth I's rule, England took a series of measures to try to destroy any trace of influence from the Roman Catholic Church:
Legal provisions stated that encouraging anyone to join Catholicism was a crime punishable by decapitation, and the mere act of practicing Catholicism became extremely expensive due to the heavy taxes and other hardships involved, and could even lead to a disastrous outcome.
When James I ascended the throne in 1603, Catholics hoped that the situation would improve, but their hopes were quickly dashed.
Under the encouragement of his chief advisor, Robert Cecil, James I brought the punitive laws to their fullest extent.
