|
Dromo's Den
|
|
[Up] [Dromo's Den] James I Biography JAMES I of England and VI of Scotland (1566–1625). He was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her cousin and second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, and was born in Edinburgh Castle June 19, 1566. The following year his mother was forced to abdicate, and he became King. There were several regents during the minority, the best of whom was the Earl of Morton, whose fall was brought about by the influence of the Duke of Lennox and that of the Earl of Arran in 1581. Meanwhile James was receiving a thorough scholastic training, especially in Latin and theology, his most famous teacher being George Buchanan. After the fall of Morton there was a series of conspiracies, a French and an English faction each seeking to control the young King. In 1582 James was seized by the Earl of Gowrie and his allies, who were adherents of England. In 1583 James escaped and joined the party hostile to the Presbyterian clergy, but after some minor difficulties an alliance with Elizabeth of England was signed in 1586. This treaty brought about a complete breach between James and his mother, whom, indeed, he had not seen since infancy. She now disinherited him in favor of Philip II of Spain, who was planning the conquest of England in the interest of Catholicism. But in 1587 she was executed in England, after James had interceded for her with Elizabeth in a half-hearted way. James’s marriage to Anne of Denmark, in 1589, brought him into closer relations with the Protestants; but the King, as in everything else, cautious also in his foreign policy, maintained at the same time friendly relations with the Roman Catholic powers. In Scotland itself James had considerable trouble both with the Presbyterian clergy and the great Catholic nobles. There were several conspiracies against him, among which may be mentioned the Gowrie Conspiracy (q.v.) in 1600. In 1603 James succeeded to the English throne as a descendant of Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII, and one great object of his policy was thereby obtained. James was in favor of peace with Spain, and so he at once dismissed Sir Walter Raleigh (q.v.) from the Council and imprisoned him. He continued Robert Cecil (q.v.), the Minister of Elizabeth, in power, and as a result the old fines continued to be imposed on the Catholics, and the difficulties with them resulted in 1605 in the Gunpowder Plot (q.v.). Moreover, the Puritans also caused trouble. James finally consented to meet their representatives; but the result was unfavorable to the Puritans, on account of the similarity of their doctrines to those of the Presbyterians, with whom James had had so much trouble in Scotland. (See Hampton Court Conference.) In foreign affairs James broke with the policy of Elizabeth, deserted the Dutch, signed (1604) a treaty with Spain, and began to seek a marriage alliance for his son with its royal house. At home James provoked national prejudices by seeking to bring about the political union of England and Scotland. Though he was unsuccessful in this, he obtained a judicial decision in 1608 whereby Scotchmen born after James’s accession to the English throne, the so-called "post-nati," were subjects of the King of England. James believed himself independent of all control, but in reality was continually ruled by favorites. In 1607 a Scotchman named Robert Carr (q.v.) obtained control over James, and in 1616 he gave way to another favorite, George Villiers (q.v.). With the outbreak of the religious wars in Germany, foreign affairs became all-absorbent. In the Cleves-Jülich troubles in 1609 James had allied himself for a short time with the Dutch, and in 1613 his daughter, Elizabeth, had married the Elector Palatine, the head of the Protestant Union of Germany. In 1617, however, James vigorously reopened negotiations for a Spanish marriage, and as a result the election of his son-in-law, the Elector Palatine, as King Frederick V of Bohemia in 1619, which marked the outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War, was extremely annoying to him. The English nation desired to aid Frederick, but James refused to support the Protestants on the Continent. When the fortune of war went against Frederick, grave discontent broke out in England; and James, now that it was too late, sent some slight assistance. Meanwhile the negotiations with Spain went on. In 1623 Charles, who was Prince of Wales since the death of Prince Henry in 1619, together with Villiers, created in 1624 Duke of Buckingham, went to Spain to prosecute the suit. Buckingham, however, quarreled with the leading men of the Spanish court, the negotiations resulted in a war with Spain, and a marriage alliance was signed instead with France. James died on March 27, 1625. James was known as one of the best scholars of his time, though in him scholarship often assumed the form of ridiculous pedantry. The Authorized Version of the Bible was completed between 1604 and 1611, and the work was encouraged by the King. His vacillating policy and complete subserviency to the will of his favorites caused him to be regarded with contempt, and he was pithily described by the great French statesman Sully as the "wisest fool in Christendom." He believed fully in the divine right of kings and desired an absolute monarchy, but did not know how to manage his parliaments and was compelled to dissolve them on several occasions. Moreover, the House of Commons impeached his ministers, a notable case being that of his great Chancellor, Francis Bacon (q.v.). In Scotland the reign of James was fairly successful, for he understood the temper and spirit of that country better than that of England. The reign of James is also notable for the beginning of permanent English colonization in America and some unsuccessful expeditions, as that of Sir Walter Raleigh to the mouth of the Orinoco in 1616. See History, under United States. The New International Encyclopaedia Vol. XII (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1920) 545-546. |