English Roman Catholics had hoped that James would offer greater tolerance of their faith, and the king did reach out to moderate Roman Catholics and Protestants. While many English Catholics greeted these efforts, a group of Catholic revolutionaries, disappointed that this son of a Catholic queen had not immediately restored Catholic liberties, plotted to kill him. The failure of the Gunpowder Plot led to the enactment of even more severe measures against Catholics, and the gradual advance toward religious toleration in Britain was put back for centuries.