The House Of Stuart
1556 – 1625 - James VI and I
The son of Mary Queen of Scots, James, was crowned James VI of Scotland at the age of one when Mary fled her post. James offered support to Elizabeth I during the wars against France and Spain which gained him favour. Named the heir to the throne of England, he was crowned James I of England in July 1603. Although less civilised than Elizabeth, which often caused tensions in English royal proceedings, James was intelligent and had a good mind for his duties. He attempted to heal the rift between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic church, one act in this plan was to execute a national hero, Sir Walter Raleigh, for attacking a Spanish fleet. This was hugely unpopular with the English, who previously had been able to acquire privateering rights allowing them to attack enemy ships for plunder. James was also known for being very hard on witchcraft.
1605 – The Gunpowder Plot
In an attempt to dethrone James I and install his nine year old Catholic daughter, a group of extremists planned to blow up the houses of parliament on the day of state opening. The King and all the MPs would have been in the building, giving the plotters an ideal moment to cause maximum damage. A Catholic peer was pre-warned not to attend, and this arose suspicion. The King's network of eyes and ears set about discovering the plot. Guy Fawkes was discovered waiting by thirty-six barrels of gunpowder underneath the houses of parliament. Fellow conspirators were also caught around the same time. When tried for treason, Guy Fawkes and his compatriots were found guilty and were then hung drawn and quartered, the same treatment given to William Wallace.
1611 – The King James Bible
The bible had not been fully translated into English until Wycliffe in 1382. When printing was invented, an authorised English version appeared named Coverdale's Great Bible. This was soon reissued with edits as the Bishop's Bible in 1568. However during the reign of James I, the multiple texts caused upsets with puritan MPs who wanted to strip down the church and streamline its activities. James saw an opportunity to make amends by commissioning a new official English language version, to replace all the older texts. He employed forty-seven theologians to carry out the work, which was completed in 1611. It is widely used to this day and is remarked for its simplicity and reverend style.
1620 – The Pilgrim Fathers
A group of around 100 people fled from religious persecution in Britain and sailed to the new lands now known as North America. This group of travellers sailed in the Mayflower, a famous boat in the States, and formed a colony which became New England. With separatist puritans from England, Scotland, the Netherlands, and elsewhere, the group of Europeans crowded onto the ship and set off on their perilous journey. Many died through infection and disease on the way, as conditions were appalling. When they arrived in the winter of 1620, the surviving voyagers drew up the Mayflower Compact of Government for themselves which gave order and stability. The Native Americans were also very generous and offered help when possible. News of the foundation of a colony in the New World gave rise to a wave of emigration which ultimately led to the founding of North America.
1600 – 1649 Charles I
Son of James I, Charles I had a strict belief in the Divine Right of Kings and yet was also unwilling to listen to his subjects. This proved unpopular and it made his administration tenuous. Even his wife, the Catholic Henrietta Maria, disliked him for supporting a curious breed of religious practices called Arminianism. When Charles needed money for wars in Spain, parliament refused to give it which led to defeats. By attempting to enforce strict religious laws in Scotland, Charles brought about a revolution and a subsequent invasion of Scots on England. Eventually he sold honours and some of the crown jewels to pay for an army that could subdue the Scots. Parliament continued to refuse support for the King who was called upon once more to raise an army to quell an Irish rebellion. Parliament were afraid that the army could be used against it, with a serious distrust for Charles, and so they enforced even more reforms to curb the King's power. Eventually, a revolution ensued in Britain which saw Charles I imprisoned and then beheaded.
1642 – 1649 The Civil War
For seven years Britain was torn down the middle by strong fighting between supporters of the Royal dynasty, called Cavaliers, and the Roundhead supporters of Parliament. These were called the Roundheads due to the shape of their traditional helmet. The North of England as well as the Welsh sided mainly with the Cavaliers, where as Scotland and the South typically sided with the Roundheads. The Kings army was led by his select generals and aristocratic inner circle and the Parliament's army was led by Oliver Cromwell. At first battles were equally matched with both armies posing decent fronts. However Cromwell used cavalry to his advantage at key points which eventually led to a Roundhead advantage. Seizing the upper hand, Cromwell decided to train an elite force of fighters called the New Model Army. These were much better suited for the types of warfare underway in this time. Charles was eventually forced to surrender to the Scots, who he had hoped would offer leniency. At first, Charles was given good treatment, and the Scots allowed him to be their King. This was short lived however as the Parliament army beat the Scots at Preston. Upon capture, Charles I was tried for treason and beheaded.
1649 – 1658 The Commonwealth
In 1649, Parliament took full control of the nation's affairs. There was no over-all leader at first, and the shared ruler-ship was known as the Commonwealth. In 1653 Oliver Cromwell adopted the title Lord Protector and became head of state until his death five years later. The hated figure in Ireland but folk hero of Parliamentarians in England, Cromwell established vast trade networks for the state. He was offered the crown and the title of King but he declined after weeks of decision making. His title of Lord Protector did come with a lavish ceremony in which he adorned the typical attire of a King barring a crown. When Cromwell died of malaria in 1658, his son Richard became his successor. He soon retired however which opened the way for Charles II, son of the executed King, to return and claim his throne.
1660 – 1685 Charles II
Charles II claimed the throne of England in 1660 after being invited by MPs. He accepted restrictions imposed by parliament and did not impose brutality on the members of the republican order. Nine of the highest officials responsible for his father's execution and the subsequent overthrow were executed but for everyone else, he was prepared to move on. The old divides from the civil war outlined the formation of the two ruling parties in parliament. The Tories were made up of Cavalier sympathisers who had ties to the ruling classes and the Whigs consisted mainly of merchants and lower members of the church, people of influence through work and not name. Many activities that were associated with royal splendour came back in fashion and this proved a boost for arts and culture with theatres and galleries enjoying heightened trade.
1665 – 1666 The Great Plague and The Great Fire of London
The heavy slums in London were overcrowded and poorly managed. Bacteria and disease became rife and this culminated in an outbreak of bubonic plague in 1665. Killing around one fifth of the cities population and outskirts, it was eventually put to an end because of an accidental fire which completely destroyed much of the city. Mostly built with wood and thatched roofing, much of the old city was flammable which caused the fire to spread very quickly from its source in Pudding Lane. One hundred thousand people were left homeless after the disaster but the fire had also sanitised the whole city. A mixed blessing, the situation caused Londoners to rebuild their homes with much safer materials and street plans. Sir Christopher Wren was commissioned to rebuild the destroyed and damaged churches, including the famous St Paul's Cathedral.
1678 The Popish Plot
Titus Oates was a Baptist cleric who began spreading conspiracy theories about Catholic uprisings. Taken seriously by parliament, the fake-news threats led to new laws being put in place to punish Catholics. These resulted in executions and imprisonments on a moderate scale. After the claims were discovered to be false, Oates was forced into retirement, tried for perjury and sentenced to be flogged, pelted in the stocks, and then imprisoned for life. He was however released after three years.
1685 – 1688 James II
With no legitimate heir, Charles II's brother, James, inherited the throne. He was a strict Catholic who wished to bring back the Catholic church to England. Strongly opposed by many, this created tensions which came to a head where protestant forces, led by Charles II's son Duke of Monmouth, were dealt with by force. Deeply unpopular with the people, parliament invited William of Orange from the Netherlands to overthrow James II. Upon arrival of William and his entourage, James fled in panic to France from which he never returned. Seen as abdication by parliament, this gave William an easy route to the throne. Although welcomed in England with banners and lavish treatment, William's forces were seen as invaders by the Scots who still had sympathies to James. The fighting was subdued with little losses.
1st May 1707 – The Act of Union
During the Reign of King James VI and I of Scotland and England, ties between the two nations flourished. However the subsequent changes in monarchy pushed the two sides further apart. The Scots had invested a fortune in a colony in South America, which had not taken root. The Crown of England withdrew all support for the project which infuriated the suffering Scots. The English court then imposed several strict laws on Scotland to assert control and political dominance. The resulting agreement was a union of the two nations which created one state from Scotland and England. Even to this day, many Scots feel that the union was a farce which should be repealed.
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