Public School History of England and Canada/England/Chapter 15
CHAPTER XV.
CROWN AND PARLIAMENT.
1. James I.—Elizabeth was no sooner dead than Cecil, the minister of her old age, sent for James VI. of Scotland, the son of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, to be king of England. No one objected, and James came down from Scotland to London and was crowned on the sacred stone of Scone in Westminster. So the old prophecy was fulfilled, and a Scotch king reigned in England under the title of James I.
James was the first of the Stuart line, and, like all his race in England, was obstinate, self-willed, and filled with the notion that he ruled by “Divine Right”; that is, he believed he held the throne from God directly, and not from his Parliament and people. To this belief he added another, viz., that bishops were divinely appointed, and that the kingship was not secure unless the Church was governed by bishops. As he said, “No Bishop, no King.” Perhaps he got this idea from the fact that when king in Scotland he had to endure a good many restraints and rebukes from the Presbyterian clergy of that nation. At any rate, as soon as he reached England he cast his lot in with the English Church and left the Presbyterian body to which he had formerly belonged.
James had a few good qualities and a great many bad ones. He was well educated, and had read much on church history and theology. He loved to show his learning, and to that end wrote pamphlets against smoking (which was becoming fashionable) and witchcraft, and in favor of the “Divine Right of Kings.” He had a canny Scotch wit and humour, and said many shrewd and pithy things. Nevertheless, he was a foolish king: “the wisest fool in Christendom,” as a French statesman called him. Le was easily ruled by favourites, and his court was often the scene of drunkenness and low debauchery. James himself was given to gluttony and drunkenness, and as in dress he was slovenly, and in person awkward and ungainly, he made himself contemptible and ridiculous by his actions. The English people had been accustomed to dignified kings and queens, and the change from the queenly Elizabeth to the ricketty James did not tend to make them quietly submit to James’ claim to rule “not by the common will but for the common weal.
2. State of the Nation,—At this time, too, the people had become so prosperous under Elizabeth’s rule that they had recovered much of the old spirit of freedom which forced the Plantagenets to give Parliament the control of taxation. Elizabeth had felt this in the later years of her reign, and had unwillingly conceded many things to her Parliament. So, when James, with his awkward ways and foreign accent, began to dictate to his Parliament and people how they should be governed, they resented it, and soon made him understand that the English people did not want arbitrary rule.
The nation was in an unsettled condition owing to the different views held by the people on religious questions. The Puritans wanted changes made in the Church services, so as to bring them nearer the form of worship in Scotland and Geneva. They disliked making the sign of the cross in baptism, wearing a surplice, or giving a ring in the marriage service. They, also, were very strict about keeping Sunday, and about indulging in amusements. In questions of state they upheld the liberty of Parliament and the right of the people to make their own laws. Then there was the Church party which wished the Church to remain as Elizabeth had left it, and which was strongly in favour of giving the king a great deal of power. Lastly, there were the Roman Catholics, who wished to restore the Roman Catholic faith. They had been fiercely persecured in Elizabeth’s reign and now looked to James for relief, because his mother had been a strict Roman Catholic. The hope of the Puritans that he would make changes in the Church services to please them, was soon destroyed. James had been so sternly treated by the Scotch Presbyterians that he hated them and their ways; and as the Puritans in many respects were like the Presbyterians, he, at a Conference at Hampton Court, roundly abused them when they asked for changes, and said if they would not conform he would “harry them out of the land.” The only good result of this conference was the decision to issue a revised translation of the Bible, which was done in 1611. This is the version still in use.
3. The Puritans begin to Emigrate,—Now that it was seen that James was wedded to the Church as it stood, many Puritans determined to leave their native land and find a home where they could worship God as they pleased. Among others that left was a small congregation under the leadership of their pastor, John Robinson, and an Elder, William Brewster. It first went to Amsterdam and Leyden and then in 1620 came back to England, whence it took passage in a little vessel called the “Mayflower” for the shores of North America. This little band of 120 souls landed at Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts, and, after suffering great privations for many years, founded a flourishing colony, which was the beginning of the New England States.
4. Gunpowder Plot.—If the Puritans were disappointed. in James, much more were the Roman Catholics. The relief that they expected did not come; on the other hand, Parliament made the laws more severe against them, and James began to banish their priests, and to fine them for not attending the English Church services. The result was that a few desperate men, headed by one Robert Catesby, formed a plot to blow up Parliament while it was being opened, kill the king and members of Parliament, and then seize one of the younger members of the royal family and place him on the throne. To carry out this plot gunpowder was stored in barrels in a vault or cellar under the House of Lords, and a man named Guy Fawkes was entrusted with the task of setting fire to it at the proper time. Fortunately one of the conspirators did not wish his brother-in-law, who was in Parliament, to be killed, and sent him a warning note not to attend. This led to inquiries being made, and a search taking place the evening before Parliament was to be opened, November 5th, 1605, Guy Fawkes was found concealed in the cellar, and the whole plot was exposed. The conspirators tried to escape, but most of them were seized and put to death. The result of this wicked and foolish plot was that the laws were made still more cruel and oppressive against Roman Catholics.
5. Crown and Parliament.—Very soon James began to disagree with his Parliaments. He insisted on his right to collect taxes and place duties on goods without consent of Parliament; and to please his favourites and put money in his treasury, he revived the monopolies which had been given up by Elizabeth. Nearly every article of common use was made the subject of a “monopoly,” and in this way the people had to pay for what they used far more than the things were worth. James’ expenses were heavy, for he had to keep an army in Ireland. The people there were discontented and rebellious, because they had been driven out of their holdings in Ulster and their land given to English and Scotch settlers. Besides, James surrounded himself with profligate favourites who wasted his revenue. His first favourite was Robert Carr, a dissolute young Scotchman, who committed a grave crime and in consequence was disgraced. Then came George Villiers, afterwards known as the Duke of Buckingham, who by his beauty and fascinating manners soon became so powerful with James and his son Charles as to be able to influence them to do anything he wished. Villers was looked upon as an insolent upstart by the great nobles; but he made the proudest and highest in the land seek his favour. All who wished to obtain anything from the king had to win over Buckingham by gifts and presents. In this way, the penniless adventurer, George Villiers, soon became the rich and powerful Buckingham. This man, with his extravagance and insolence, Parliament in vain sought to keep in check. James would not agree to give up his power of imposing taxes, and in 1614 dissolved Parliament because it would not grant him any money until he abandoned his unjust claims.
6. The Spanish Match.—For seven years after this James ruled without a Parliament, and, to keep his extravagant court supplied with money, he did a great many wicked and foolish things. He levied fines, forced loans, and benevolences, and made himself ridiculous by compelling people of small means to take titles or else pay a fine for refusing. He created a new title, that of “baronet,” which he sold for £100. Buckingham also used the law courts to fill the treasury, and judges took presents from those who brought cases before them for settlement.
Meanwhile James sought to make friends with Spain, and to this end tried to bring about a match between his son Charles and the daughter of Philip III. This the English people did not want, for they hated the Spaniards and were afraid of having for a queen a Roman Catholic princess. James, however, prided himself on his statecraft and would not listen to the objections of his people. To please the Spanish court he did the most cruel and unjust act of his reign. At this time Sir Walter Raleigh was a prisoner in the Tower on a flimsy charge of treason committed in 1603. Thirteen a years was he imprisoned, and, to while away his time, wrote his great work The History of the World. Tired of his long confinement, he told James he knew of a gold mine in Guiana, up the river Orinoco, and if he would give him his freedom he would go out and bring the king home a great treasure. James released him, but warned him he must not, at the peril of his life, attack any Spanish settlements. Raleigh set sail, and when he reached the mouth of the Orinoco, he sent an expedition up the river to search for the mine. His men did not find it, but got into a fight with some Spaniards, and Raleigh’s son was killed. Raleigh had to return without the expected treasure, and when he reached England he was beheaded, 1618, to please the Spanish king, who complained of Raleigh’s attack on one of his settlements.
James was willing to allow others besides Raleigh to sufter, to please Spain. In 1618, a great war broke out in Germany, and lasted thirty years. The Thirty Years’ War was due to James’ son-in-law, Frederick, the Hlector of the Palatinate, accepting the crown of Bohemia, which was claimed by Ferdinand, Emperor of Germany. The war. that followed soon became one between Protestants and Roman Catholics, and Spain gave her aid to the Catholic Ferdinand against the Protestant Frederick. Frederick was very unfortunate and lost not only Bohemia, but also his own Electorate on the Rhine. The English people would have gladly gone to war with Spain to restore him to his dominions; but James was so anxious to keep peace with Spain that he refused to give any aid. He thought he could get Spain to restore Frederick to his possessions by a policy of conciliation. Spain, however, would not interfere in his behalf, and it seemed as if the Spanish king was in no hurry to have the marriage take place. Impatient of delay, Charles and Buckingham went in disguise to the Spanish court, hoping that their presence would hasten the match. They had not been there long before Buckingham got into a quarrel, and Charles found that the Infanta did not like him. One excuse after another was made for delay, and although Charles was prepared to promise anything to obtain his end, the marriage was broken off because Spain would not interfere in the interests of Frederick.
6. The Parliament of 1621.—Before this had taken place, James had called his third Parliament to get supplies. Many famous men came up to this Parliament; among others, John Pym, John Hampden, Sir John Eliot, Sir Thomas Wentworth, and Coke and Seldon the famous lawyers. They at once began to complain of the fines, taxes, and monopolies with which the king and Buckingham had been oppressing the people. They also impeached Lord Bacon, the Lord Chancellor, for taking bribes from suitors. Bacon, who was the greatest thinker of his day, had just written a famous book—The Novum Organum—on the best way to study science, He acknowledged his guilt, and was fined and driven in disgrace from the bench. Parliament was very much in earnest, and made James give up the monopolies. Besides, it told the king he should break off the proposed match with the Spanish princess and give his aid to Frederick. James thought it impertinent to give him advice on foreign affairs, and when Parliament claimed the right to discuss anything of interest to the people, he tore the protestation out of the Journals of the House and dissolved it. It was about this time (1622) the first weekly newspaper appeared.
7. Close of James’ Reign.—Hardly was Parliament dissolved when Charles and Buckingham came back from Spain. They were eager for war and forced James to call another Parliament to get the necessary supplies. A small sum was voted and then Parliament adjourned. Charles had now arranged to marry Henrietta Maria, the daughter of Henry IV. of France, and James was unwilling to call Parliament again because he knew the feeling against the heir to the throne marrying a Roman Catholic. So he did not wait for Parliament to give a larger grant, but sent 12,000 men under Count Mansfield to aid Frederick in the Palatinate. The expedition was a great failure, and most of the men died of disease brought on from want of proper food and clothing. This sad failure hastened the King’s end, and he died of ague in 1625, leaving to his son Charles his throne, and a standing quarrel with his Parliament.