James I, King of England
James I (born in June 19, 1566) was by virtue of the "Union of the Crowns" act, the King of England and Ireland from March 24, 1603 until his death in March 27, 1625. Before his reign over England, he was the King of Scotland from July 24, 1567 and he was then known as James VI.
His predecessor was Queen Elizabeth I who was the last Tudor monarch of England and left no legitimate Tudor heir to the throne. James I was the first King of the House of Stuart and the first to proclaim himself "King of Great Britain" although no such country existed until 1707.
There has been some controversy surrounding the birth of James. Some rumours have it that Mary I, Queen of Scots who was supposed to be his mother actually gave birth to a son who died in infancy. The rumour goes on to suggest that James was actually the second son of the then Countess of Mar. These reports were bolstered by the fact that James had an uncanny resemblance to John, the Earl of Mar and had very little resemblance to the Stuarts. Fanning the flames of these rumours was the discovery in 1830 of a small coffin in the walls of Mary's apartment which contained the body of a baby boy wrapped in a swath of silk bearing the monogram "J". While the truth may never be revealed, many people hold this belief to this day.
In Scotland, James rule was fraught with conflicts from both the Catholic and Protestant churches. He faced a dilemma at every turn, always concerned with offending one or the other side. For instance when the Catholics threatened to rebel in 1588, he made steps to reconcile with the Church of Scotland and tried to make amends by recalling the Black Acts of 1592.
He also pardoned many of the Catholic rebels in order to appease the Catholics in England. These actions however outraged the Protestants and they plotted to overthrow James. When the plot failed and the conspirators were executed, James began to curtail the privileges of even the Protestant nobles.
While James was a contender for the English throne after Elizabeth I of Tudor's death, he was by no means the only aspirant. His own mother, Mary Queen of Scots was inline for the throne as well since both she and James were the closest living relatives of Elizabeth. Mary however was implicated in the Babington Plot, wherein it was revealed that she intended to ascend to the throne after the planned murder of Elizabeth. This was not the first time Mary was involved in a similar plot, having been party to the earlier Ridolfi Plot. While Mary was pardoned for this earlier plot, Elizabeth now felt that her continued existence was too great a threat to her throne and subsequently had Mary executed in 1587. This left the path to the throne almost wide open for James.
Almost but not quite, for Henry VIII in an attempt to prevent the Crown of England from falling into Scottish hands had stated in his will that no Tudor descendant would be legible for succession to the throne. Because of an act passed by Parliament, this will had the legal force of a law. However, the legal claimants to the throne, Lady Anne Stanley and Viscount Beauchamp, who was the son of Lady Catherine Grey, possessed no political will to support the claim, and after an accession council in 1603, James was crowned King of England.
While James enjoyed a productive and successful reign in Scotland, his rule in England by contrast was fraught with political and religious conflicts and controversies. His staunchest opponent in England was the Parliament and both sides were constantly at odds with each other throughout most of James' reign. The source of much of this animosity was James' intolerance and mismanagement of the government.
James intolerance was manifested by his insistence on absolute rule by the monarchy, which verged on political absolutism. Like many of the rulers from the House of Stuart, James believed in their "divine right to rule" and had little tolerance for those who opposed him.
He also placed many of his own favoured advisers in key positions in the government regardless of whether they were sufficiently qualified for the particular position or performed their duties inadequately. This of course was a major point of contention with Parliament and when they sought to address these infractions, James considered their actions akin to treason.
Furthermore, throughout his reign, James showed a severe inability to manage the Kingdom's wealth satisfactorily. He often had to approach Parliament for more money and many people all over the country resented him for his unreasonable taxation policies.
The religious difficulties that James faced in Scotland faced him almost immediately after his ascension to the English throne. James was always wary of offending the Catholic faction in England and therefore was somewhat tolerant of their presence and their religious activities. This angered the Protestants however and they insisted that James not give the Catholics equal rights in England.
The conflict between James and the Parliament of England ultimately culminated in the Civil War wherein James son and heir to the throne, Charles I was arrested and later executed.
Interestingly, while it can be said that many of the seeds of the Civil War in England had its roots in James I's reign, this period was actually a relatively stable time for both England and Scotland. The cultural growth which England had experienced since the time of Queen Elizabeth I continued in James I's reign, and many advancements in the fields of science, art, literature were made. James himself made many contributions to the literary world, writing and publishing many theological and political works such as Daemonologie, The True Law of Free Monarchies, Basilikon Doron and A Counterblaste to Tobacco. Because of his published work, James was somewhat unflatteringly known as "the wisest fool in Christendom".
Original Authors: Doods Pangburn
Edit Update Authors: M.A.Harris
Updated On: 25/07/2008
