When Queen Elizabeth I of England died in 1603, she had one last trick up her sleeve. She bequeathed the throne to her first-cousin-once-removed, James VI of Scotland (who also happened to be the son of Elizabeth’s nuisance of a cousin, Mary Queen of Scots). This also transferred the royal power from the House of Tudor to the House of Stuart. James I reign is notable for a few things. First of all, he felt it was his “divine†right to rule with absolute power and therefore basically ignored Parliament until he needed them to help support his lavish lifestyle. Secondly, he didn’t quite know how to placate the religious issues pervasive throughout England (Elizabeth I had reinstated the Church of England to the Protestant faith) and yet all of Europe was predominately Catholic (so were many of the English for that matter). Complicating matters, the Puritans were an ever-growing sect of the Protestants and were demanding the eradication of all remnants of Catholic practices still permeating the church services. James basically told the Puritans to get lost (and they did, by sailing to America on the Mayflower in 1620). Despite his lack of diplomacy and insensitivities to religious matters, the publication of the King James Version of the Bible in 1611 was met with extensive approval. Another piece of history important to know about James I is that he was the ruling king when Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up Parliament and the king, intending to “blow the Scots back to Scotland.†That effort failed, but the British still “Remember, remember the 5th of November!†(1605 that is). James I died at the age of 58, and despite his relatively lackluster reign, he still had the affection of the people. His son, Charles I would inherit the throne.
