IN THE SLEEK, MODERN, HEADQUARTERS of the National Archives in London lies a threadbare grey leather pouch with faded lettering. Though it doesn’t look like much, this little bag holds the keys to one of history’s most daring conspiracies: the Gunpowder Plot. In 1605, Catholic sympathizer Guy Fawkes and his fellow conspirators planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill the Protestant King James I and his council. The contents of this unassuming sack reveal the whole traitorous scheme—changing the course of English history forever.
Known as a Bag of Secrets, or Baga De Secretis, the first mention of these small pouches was made in 1344, and 91 Bags of Secrets were eventually used in England. Despite their name, the earliest bags didn’t hold sensitive files. Instead, they contained important documents relating to everyday cases of the King’s Bench, the country’s most senior criminal court. But that all changed in the 16th century during the reign of King Henry VIII.
