James VI and I
(19 June 1566 ? 27 March 1625) was
King of Scotland
as James VI, and
King of England
and
King of Ireland
as James I. He was the first
monarch
to be called the king of
Great Britain
. He ruled in
Scotland
as James VI from 24 July 1567 until his death and he ruled in England and Scotland from 24 March 1603 until his death. He became king of Scotland as a baby when his mother, Mary Queen of Scots, had to abdicate.
His reign was important because it was the first time England and Scotland had the same
monarch
. He was the first monarch of England from the
House of Stuart
. The previous English monarch had been
Elizabeth I
. She had died without any children, so the English agreed to have a Scottish monarch because James was the son of
Mary, Queen of Scots
, thus the closest relative Elizabeth had. By being king of both, he created a
personal union
, the
Union of the Crowns
.
James fought often with the
Parliament of England
. In addition, he did not use the kingdom’s money well. While James was ruling, the Scottish and English governments were quite stable. After James died, his son
Charles
tried to rule in the same way as James, but caused the
English Civil War
. At the end of the war in 1649, Charles was executed.
James was very well educated and good at learning. He helped people in England and in Scotland to study things such as
science
,
literature
, and
art
. James wrote
Daemonologie
in 1597,
The True Law of Free Monarchies
in 1598,
Basilikon Doron
in 1599, and
A Counterblaste to
Tobacco
in 1604. He sponsored the
Authorized King James Version
of the Bible.
James was a target of the
Gunpowder Plot
. A group of Catholics planned to blow up the
Houses of Parliament
on 5 November
1605
during a ceremony while James was in the building. The plot was stopped when a member of the group,
Guy Fawkes
, was found in a basement with barrels of
gunpowder
. The event is remembered every year on 5 November, also known as
Bonfire Night
, where many people decide to celebrate and light bonfires and fireworks.
James believed in witchcraft. When he read
The Discoverie of Witchcraft
, he ordered all copies of the book to be burnt.
[1]
The king had an importance with the first English settlers.
The first permanent English established settlement in North America was made under the charter granted by James to
Sir Thomas Gates
and other in 1606. In march 27th, 1625, James suffered a stroke while hunting at his favorite lodge, he died in his bed a few hours later.
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