Interestingly, despite the historical clear-cut nature of the plot, many academics and historians believe that not all was as it is now chronicled, with Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury and spymaster to King James 1st, often been cited as instrumental to the plot’s progression. Indeed, many commentators argue that Cecil (a devout Protestant) was made aware of the plot early on its formation and let it develop in order to foil it later, with much publicity, allowing him to usher in a wave of new anti-Catholic laws. Cecil’s ability to undertake such a scheme, note academics, is supported by the fact that he was trained by the famous spymaster of Queen Elizabeth 1st, Sir Francis Walsingham, who had excelled in foiling numerous Catholic plots against her, as well as penetrating the upper echelons of Spanish society, who were at war with England at the time.

The Brown Bess musket was the weapon of choice for riflemen during the rise of the British Empire and was used in numerous incarnations for over a hundred years. The musket, which is a .75 caliber flintlock, weighs over 10 pounds and is almost a meter and a half in length. Due to the many stages required to fire, as well as its unwieldily proportions in comparison to modern firearms, firing the musket was a tricky task, with experienced shooters capable of only four shots per minute.

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