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| Sir Theodore Mayerne |
James was
ill and was attended by his physician Theodore Mayerne. He suffered from depression, attacks of the colic,
vomiting and diarrhoea. In 1617, despite his illness, James travelled up to
Scotland; the trip was a costly one. Not only tapestries and silver went north,
but also melons and cherries as the king had a passion for soft fruit.
While in
Scotland, James pushed to further remove all traces of Puritanism in the
Scottish church. In 1618 the Five Articles of Perth imposed Anglican rituals on the
Scots although they were not ratified until 1621. James increased minister’s
stipends before threatening to remove the increase from those who objected to
the articles.
James,
against his religious beliefs, was as a policy matter forced to deal with the
High Church bishops of the Church of England. He did however refuse to promote Laud[i], a confidant of Villiers, who was to
cause such problems for his son.
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| 1709 edition of the Book of Sports |
In England, where Puritanism was becoming
rife, James had to issue the Book of Sports to protect dancing, playing and ‘church-ales’ which
were permissible once the church service was over.
Anne died on
2nd March 1619; the couple had been married for thirty years,
although they had not shared a household for ten years. James did not attend
her deathbed or funeral having a morbid dislike of such events. But he was
upset by her death and wrote poetry;
‘She’s changed, not
dead, for sure no good prince dies
But, as the sun sets,
only for to rise.’[ii]
Charles was
with his mother when she died, he was close to his mother possibly particularly
so after the loss of his sister Elizabeth to a life abroad.
Expansion Abroad
In September
1620 the Pilgrim Fathers set off in the Mayflower for the new world in a search for a land free from the persecutions
suffered in England. They were not the first English travellers to make
landfall in the Americas. A colony in Virginia was given a royal patent in
1616.
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| Sir William Alexander |
Sir William Alexander[iii] founded a short lived colony in Nova Scotia; James granted
him a royal charter in 1621. Walter Ralegh was allowed out of the Tower for one
last ill-fated expedition up the Orinoco where gold was alleged to be found. Alas, Ralegh clashed with the
Spaniards whom James felt it politic to appease. And he was executed upon his
return, much to the indignation of his fellow countrymen who felt that their
king had become a puppet of Philip III.
War in EuropeFew who saw the beginning of the war that now befell Europe can have imagined that it would last thirty years and one that was to have profound effects on James’ daughter and her husband. The largely Protestant states were lined up against the hegemony of the Hapsburgs.
The
Protestants in Bohemia revolted against their Catholic overlord, the Holy Roman Emperor. The throne was offered to James’
son-in-law, Frederick who became king in August 1619. He and Elizabeth became known
as the Winter King and Queen as they were chased out of Bohemia in November
1620 and out of the Palatinate following an invasion in February
1620 by Spain and Austria.
Initially James
refused to become involved in the dispute saying;
‘His subjects were as dear
to him as his children, and therefore he could not embark them on an unjust and
needless quarrel.’[iv]
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| Frederick the Winter King |
James was
caught between the peril that his daughter and son-in-law now found themselves
in and his hopes for a Spanish marriage for Charles. Supporting Frederick was
popular amongst James’ subjects and an appeal for money raised some funds, but
to pay for military intervention sufficient funds could only be obtained from
parliament.
Parliament
was in an intractable mood and spent much time criticising James’ policies and
in particular his foreign policy, which James viewed as a royal prerogative.
There was much popular discontent with the granting of patents and monopolies
of which large parts were controlled by Villiers and his family[v].
Bacon warned
Villiers of the dangers but was blithely ignored. In the event it was Bacon who
was used as a scapegoat and was fined £40,000[vi] and imprisoned[vii]. The brangle between
James and parliament rolled on. James wished to trust to the new king in Spain,
Philip IV, to return Frederick to his
Electorship. Parliament was dissolved in January 1621 with no war subsidies
having been granted.
In Buckingham’s Talons
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| George Villiers |
James was
still caught in Villiers’s toils; telling his Privy Council in 1617
‘I,
James, am neither a god nor an angel, but a man like any other. Therefore I act
like a man and confess to loving those dear to me more than other men. You may
be sure that I love the Earl of Buckingham more than anyone else.’[viii]
The more
honours and riches Villiers was given, the more unpopular he became. High
positions or remuneration were awarded at his discretion. He purchased the post of Lord High Admiral from
Nottingham for a lump sum of £3,000[ix] and a pension of £1,000
per annum for life[x]. Following the queen’s
death the majority of her collection of jewels and plate, worth nearly £500,000[xi] was lavished on the
favourite.
The Spanish Bride?
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| Diego Gondemar |
The
friendship between the heir to the throne and the favourite continued apace;
Charles went off with Villiers in 1623 on an unofficial trip to Spain to catch
a glimpse of his future wife at the suggestion of Diego Gondamar, the Spanish Ambassador.
At a suggestion
that Villiers and Charles extend their stay James, who wore a portrait of
‘Steenie’ under his waistcoat, became frantic.
‘Alas, I now repent me sore
that I ever suffered you to go away, I care for match nor nothing, so I may
once have you in my arms again; God grant it!’[xii]
The antics
of the heir to the English throne and the king’s favourite horrified the staid
Spanish court and the marriage to the Infanta Maria Anna[xiii] with her very desirable dowry of
£600,000[xiv] was off, putting paid to
James’ hopes for a closer union between the two countries  |
| Henrietta Maria |
Charles and Villiers
returned to England via France where the prince caught a glimpse of the
Princess Henrietta Maria the sister of the king of France Louis XIII[xv]. Following their treatment there the
two young men were now determined on war with Spain.
In February
1624 Parliament met again; James and Charles and Villiers had very divergent expectations;
James wanted peace, Charles and Villiers wanted war. And Villiers wanted to
bring about the fall of Cranfield, the highly efficient Lord Treasurer, who had
supported the Spanish marriage, much to James’ consternation;
‘My God, Steenie you are a
fool and will shortly repent this folly.’[xvi]
But James
was old for his age, sick and tired and the folly was enacted and the country’s
foreign policy completely reversed. Instead of Spain, the country now allied
with France, whose anti-Austrian policy, under the auspices of Cardinal Richelieu, had brought her into the war on the Protestant side.
Parliament
voted for a naval war with Spain and voted £300,000[xvii] towards the costs.
Villiers, as Lord High Admiral, led a disastrous expedition to Cadiz which further sullied his reputation
at home. While James’ diplomatic moves to save the Palatinate were in vain.
Death Comes as the End
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| James in 1621 |
On 5th
March 1625 James fell ill while hunting at Theobalds with what was described
as;
James did
not recover as expected and suffered a stroke; Villiers and his mother tried
country remedies to save the king who was by now unable to speak and suffering
from dysentery into the bargain. He died on 27th March; the Earl of Kellie commented;
"As he lived in peace, so
did he die in peace, and I pray God our king [Charles I] may follow him."[xx]
It was
James’ misfortune that he was succeeded by a son whose abilities were mediocre
and who was under his wife’s thumb; so much so that he was prepared to return
the country to Catholicism. And his grandsons Charles and James were to attempt to do the same. It was a great-grandson, William of Orange[xxi], who was to save England from the Popish threat for
all time.
Bibliography
Charles The
First – John Bowle, Weidenfeld & Nicholson 1975
The Early
Stuarts – Godfrey Davies, Oxford University Press 1987
King James –
Antonia Fraser, BCA 1974
Charles I –
Christopher Hibbert, Penguin 1968
www.wikipedia.en
[i]
A man with homosexual leanings, whose erotic dreams about Buckingham were
confided to his diary
[ii]
King James - Fraser
[iv]
Ibid
[v]
Controlling the licensing of inns and ale-houses and the manufacturing of gold
and silver thread amongst others
[vi]
In 2011 the relative: historic standard of
living value of that income or
wealth is £6,565,000.00
economic
status value of that income or wealth
is £204,500,000.00 economic power value
of that income or wealth is £1,331,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com
[vii]
Released by James after a few days
[ix]
In 2011 the relative: historic standard of
living value of that income or
wealth is £454,100.00
economic
status value of that income or
wealth is £14,760,000.00 economic power value
of that income or wealth is £99,090,000.00 www.measuringworth.com
[x]
In 2011 the relative: historic standard of
living value of that income or
wealth is £151.40
economic
status value of that income or
wealth is £4,921.00 economic power value
of that income or wealth is £33,030.00 www.measuringworth.com
[xi]
In 2011 the relative: historic standard of
living value of that income or
wealth is £80,930,000.00
economic
status value of that income or
wealth is £2,834,000,000.00 economic power value
of that income or wealth is £18,850,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com
[xii]
King James - Fraser
[xiii]
The younger sister of Anne of Austria, queen of France
[xiv]
In 2011 the relative: historic standard of
living value of that income or
wealth is £90,570,000.00
economic
status value of that income or
wealth is £3,303,000,000.00 economic power value
of that income or wealth is £21,000,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com
[xv]
Whom he eventually married; the future queen was a disastrous influence on
Charles
[xvi]
Charles I - Hibbert
[xvii]
In 2011 the relative: historic opportunity
cost of that project is
£51,750,000.00 labour cost of that
project is £775,300,000.00 economic cost of
that project is £9,527,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com
[xviii]
A three day fever
[xix]
King James - Fraser
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