JAMES I. OF ENGLAND AND VI. OF SCOTLAND ( 1 51iI)-1 625 . De was born on June 19, 1566. in Edinburgh Castle, as the son of Maria Stuart, Queen of Scots. and her husband, Darnley. The next year James became King after his mother had Leon forced to abdicate. There were several regents durimr the minority, the hest of whom was the Earl of whose fall was brought alma by the influence of the Duke of Lennox and thai of the Earl of Arran in 15S]. while James was receiving an excellent educa tion, his most famous teacher being George Bu chanan. After the fall of there was a series of conspiracies, a French and an English faction each seeking to control the young King. In 15S2 James was seized by the Earl of Gowrie and his allies. who were adherents of England. In 1583 James escaped and joined the party hos tile to the Presbyterian clergy, but after some minor difficulties an alliance with Elizabeth of England was signed in 15S6. This treaty brought ;liana a complete breach bet Weell James and his mother. whom. indeed. he had not seen since In 1587 she was executed in England. though James had ultimately interceded for her with Elizabeth in a half-hearted way. James's marriage to Anne of Denmark, in 15S9, brought him into closer relations with the Protestants; hut the King. as in everything else, cautious also in his foreign policy, maintained at the same time friendly relations with the Boman Catholic powers. In Scotland itself James had consid erable trouble both with the Presbyterian clergy and the great Catholic nobles. There were sev eral conspiracies against him, among which may be mentioned the Gowrie Conspiracy (q.v.) in 161M.
In 1603 Jame; succeeded to the English throne as a descendant of Alarga•et Tudor, daughter of Henry V11., 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 Walt et. Balogh (q.v.) from the Council, and imprisoned him. Ile continued Hobert Cecil (q.v.), the Minister of Elizabeth, in power; and as a result, the old fines eontinued to he imposed on the Catholics. and the difficulties with them resulted in 1605 in the Gunpowder Plot (q.v.). the Puritans also caused trouble. James finally consented to meet their representative; hut 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 CON FERENCE. ) In foreign af fairs James broke with the policy of Elizabeth, and in 1604 signed a treaty with Spain and be gan to seek a marriage alliance for his sin with its royal house. At home James provoked na tional 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 Scotehmen horn after James's accession to the English throne. the so-called 'post-nati,' were subjects of the King of England. James believed himself absolutely independent of all control, but in real ity was continually ruled by favorites. In 1607 a Scotchman named Hobert 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-Jiilich 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 r111011 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 out break of the Thirty Years' War, was extremely annoying to him. The English nation desired to aid Frederick, hut James refused to support the Protestants on the Continent. When the fortune of war went against Frederick, grave dis content broke out in England; and James, now that it was too late. sent some slight assistance. the negotiations with Spain went on. In 11123 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. Bucking ham. 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 vacillat ing policy and complete subserviency to the will of his favorites caused him to be regarded with con tempt, and lie 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 im peached his ministers, a notable case being that of his great chancellor, Francis Bacon (q.v.). In Scotland the reign of James was fairly success ful, 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 Italegh to the mouth of the Orinoco in 1616. (See History, under UNITED STATES.) Consult: his Works (London, 1616) : his Correspondence with Sir Robert Cecil (West minster, 1861); Letters to King James the Sixth front the Queen, etc. (Edinburgh. 1835) : Harris. An. Historical and Critical Account of the Lives and Writings of James I. and Charles I. (Lon don, 18141 ; Journal of Transactions in Scotland During the Contest Between the Adherents of Queen Mary and Those. of Her Son, 1570-73 (Edinburgh, 1806) ; History and Life of King James, Being an Account of the Affairs of Scot land from the Year 1566 to the Year 1596, with a short continuation to the year 1617 (Edin burgh. 1825); Yarra five History of King James for thc First Fourteen Years (4 pts., London, 1651) : Secret History of the Four Last Monarchs of Great Britain, James I., etc. (London, 1691); Aikin, Memoirs of the Court of King James the First (London. 1822) ; Birch. Court and Times of James the First (London, 1848) ; Durham, Relations of the Crown to Trade Under James I. (London, 1844) ; Frankland. Annals of King James and King Charles the First (Lon don. 1681) ; Goodman. Court of King James the First (London, 1839) ; Mackenzie. An Historical Account of the Conspiracies by the Earl of Ornery and. Robert Logan Against King James IL (Edinburgh. 1713) ; Weldon, Court and Char acter of King .lames I. (London. 1651) ; Melvil, Memoirs of His Own Life (Edinburgh, 1827); Burton, History of Scotland (London. 1873); Macaulay. History of England (New York, 1858) : and especially Gardiner, History of Eng land (London, 1895).