professor ronald hutton has considered the possible events which could have followed the successful implementation of the gunpowder plot, with the resultant destruction of parliament and death of the king. he concluded that the violence of the act would have instead resulted in a more severe backlash against suspected catholics. without the involvement of some form of foreign aid, success would have been unlikely, as most englishmen were loyal to the institution of the monarchy, despite differing religious convictions. england could very well have become a more "puritan absolute monarchy", as "existed in sweden, denmark, saxony, and prussia in the seventeenth century", rather than follow the path of parliamentary and civil reform that it did.