James VI (1567 - 1625)

James was born one year before the abdication of Mary but it was sixteen years before he could rule the kingdom as he wished. As with other minorities there were many years of intrigue, assasinations and plots among the nobility, and added to this there was religious turmoil as well. The Earls of Moray (James Stewart, illegitimate son of James V) from 1567-70; Lennox (Matthew Stewart, father of Darnley) from 1570-1; Mar (John Erskine, the custodian of King James) from 1571-2; and Morton (James Douglas) from 1572-8 were all guardians of the kingdom and Morton was also in control of the administration until 1850. Only Mar probably died of natural causes, Moray and Lennox were muredered and Morton was executed.

Portrait of James VI

By that time James was attracted to a cousin living in France, Esme, who he created Duke of Lennox. He was also being influenced by pro French and Spanish factions and it seemed that there was a possiblity of coming to terms with these countries and the Papacy, despite an education that was designed to keep him with the Protestant party.There was also a chance that his mother might be freed. The ultra Protestant faction became extremely alarmed by these events and in 1582 they seized him in the Raid of Ruthven, he was held captive until the following June. By the time James had escaped from the Ruthven faction Esme was dead and it is likely that James never forgave those who had imprisoned him. For the following two years he relied heavily on James Stewart, Earl of Arran who legislated against the extreme Protestants by reaffirming episcopacy and strongly subjecting the Church to the State with the 'Black Acts' of 1584, in this he was strongly supported by John Spotiswoode and Patrick Adamson. The Ruthven faction had exiled themselves in England and in 1585, with English support, they returned to bring about another coup. A sort of coalition government was formed with John Maitland of Thirlestane as the leader and he soon became Chancellor.

Throughout his reign, partly due to a lack of finances, James relied on conciliation rather than confrontation to deal with his nobles. He gradually excluded overmighty subjects from his government and gave them the latitude to bring about their own downfall. This policy worked with the northern earls, led by Lord Huntly. Huntly was exiled as was Francis Stewart, an ultra Protestant, who was accused of witchcraft against the king and attacks on royal residences. He was exiled in 1595 and died in Naples 18 years later. By 1597 factional revolts were at an end and the only serious break in a peaceful period occured in 1600 with the Gowrie Conspiracy - where a young earl and his brother were killed at Perth.

James did not wish to alienate the leading Presbyterians, such as Andrew Melville, and in 1592 he officially declared Scotland to be a Presbyterian state.

At the age of 23 James married Anne of Denmark and this marriage was typical of arranged unions of the time, there was little affection between them although Anne did bring an interest in the arts to the court. Their relationship must have taken a turn for the worse when she tactlessly converted to Catholicism, however, they did have seven children three of which reached adulthood with Charles succeeding James on his death. On the 24th March 1603 Elizabeth of England died and James now became king of Scotland and England. James was a Scot who loved England and when he proposed that there should be a single realm of Great Britain he could not understand why the idea was greeted with outright refusal. Surprisingly the Scottish Parliament did agree to an Act of Union it was the English Parliament which refused and so the matter was, temporarily, dropped. James attempted to master the English political system he made numerous errors and was always an alien in a foreign land.

James VI & Queen Anne

His interest in Scotland quickly waned and he only came north of the border once during the rest of his reign, in 1617. While he was in Scotland he announced that the Scottish Church should be brought more in line with that of England, predictably this roused the anger of the Kirk. Although some proposals were dropped, such as the new liturgy, he did manage to get through the Five Articles of Perth, the first of these was the provision that communion should be taken in the kneeling position - this most definitely smacked of Catholicism to many. Other articles also caused problems, such as the observance of the major Christian festivals - the Kirk taught that the Sabbath was the major Holy day ordained by God, confirmation of Bishops, private communion and baptism to people close to death were also considered close to Catholic practice. In theory these articles were to be rigorously enforced, in practice things went on much as before.

James VI died in 1625 and by his sons reign Scots already looked back with regret to 'the wisdom of blessed King James'.

History Books on James VI:

Author	Title	Published	Price	Order Now From:
Fraser, A.	King James VI of Scotland, I of England	1994	£8.99	Amazon.co.uk
When King James VI of Scotland inherited the throne of England in 1603 he had ruled his native land almost as long as had Queen Elizabeth. He showed both vision and determination in pursuing his major political goals: a united Britain, and a foreign policy based on peace rather than bellicose chauvinism. Of course, there was a darker side: in the face of growing Parliamentary opposition, he would need all his celebrated wisdom to prevent open conflict. This book is a sympathetic portrait of a worthy first king of Great Britain.
Goodare, Julian (ed.) and Michael Lynch	The Reign of James VI	1999	£16.99 or $29.95	Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
A complete re-evaluation by a group of scholars of this enigmatic period in Scottish history. The reign of James VI (1567-1625) remains one of the most enigmatic in Scottish history. This text analyzes the royal court of the time, noble factionalism, relations with England, James VI's paymaster, and a revised model of the tension between church and state.
Stevenson, D.	Scotland's Last Royal Wedding: the Marriage of King James VI and Anne of Denmark	1996	£14.95	Amazon.co.uk

History Books on this time period

Author	Title	Published	Price	Order Now From:
Donaldson, G.	Scotland: James V - VII	1965	£16.99	Amazon.co.uk
The four-volume Edinburgh History of Scotland is the most important project in Scottish historical writing for more than half a century; each volume is written by an expert on the period who brings to his work the direct acquaintance with original sources on which authoritative historical writing can alone be based. This, the third volume, deals with the time when many of the most significant and familiar episodes in Scottish history took place. The period was one in which Scotland was transformed, partly as a result of conspicuous events but largely because of more subtle and less perceptible changes in the constitutional, ecclesiastical and economic structure, the end result of which was an emergence of life more akin to that we know today. Since the early years of the 20th century much research has been done into this period. Its results form the foundation of this major work, which makes available information hitherto only found scattered throughout numerous books and periodicals.
Wormald, J.	Court, King & Community: Scotland 1470-1625	1991	£9.95	Amazon.co.uk
The last period of Scotland's existence as an independent kingdom with the focus on the events and consequences of the Reformation.

Historical Fiction Books on James VI and his times

Author	Title	Published	Price	Order Now From:
Tranter, Nigel	Wisest Fool		£5.99	Amazon.co.uk
James VI & I, the monarch who united the crowns of Scotland and England.
Tranter, Nigel	Unicorn Rampant	1984	£5.99	Amazon.co.uk
The story of John Stewart of Methven, unwillingly knighted by James VI & I on one of his rare return visits to Scotland, and his adventures at Court.
Tranter, Nigel	Poetic Justice	1997	£5.99	Amazon.co.uk
William Alexander of Menstrie, who as a poet came to the attention of James VI, and went on to translate the Psalms for the King's new bible. Finding himself adept at handling the affairs of the court in London, he later became Viscount of Canada, Governor of Nova Scotia and Earl of Stirling.