JAMES I: The wisest fool in Christendom?

James I was the son of Mary, the queen of Scotts and Henry Stuart. He was the first member of the
Stuart family to rule England. In 1603, Elizabeth I was dying, she did not have a child to inherit the
throne. Her ministers persuaded her to name the next heir to the throne. She finally murmured her
‘nephew of Scotland’, James Stuart. James I was claimed king. His subjects were satisfied as he was a
protestant and Henry the eighth’s elder sister’s grandson. As James was happy about the
inheritance, he offered rewards to all who entertained him as he was on his way to Edinburgh to the
south. James I had become James VI when he was a baby. He had a lonely childhood. Plots
surrounded him as the Scottish nobles and clergy battled over who would influence the young ruler.

James Learned quickly.

JAMES VI OF SCOTLAND

− While in Scotland, James managed to the following things as a ruler.

i. He brought peace to the Highlands by turning enemies against one another when the clan
chiefs threatened to rebel.
ii. He set up a system of justice for the whole of Scotland.
iii. He encouraged the people of Scotland to engage in trade and industry.
iv. He managed to control the church, Scotland had a presbyterian church or Kirk.

JAMES I AND HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PARLIAMENT.

During his reign, James I had problems with the parliament. Some of the problems were his own
making while others were not.

Problems that were of his own making

i. He borrowed money from the London banks, he used that money to pay debts.
ii. He was selling peerages (ranks to the nobles) at 1000 pounds. This angered parliament.
iii. He appointed ministers that MPs did not like.
iv. He lectured parliament on the divine rights of Kings.

Divine Rights of King Meant that the king was answerable to only God.

i. He constantly asked for money and parliament would refuse him.

ii. He used to reward some ministers that he liked with honors and wealth. This angered the
MPs.
iii. He showed little understanding of the English system, yet he did not take advice from the
most important subjects.
iv. He therefore broke the English tradition of the monarch.

PROBLEMS THAT WERE NOT OF HIS MAKING

i). His predecessor Elizabeth I had left behind a debt of 300000 pounds that James had to pay.

ii). Goods were expensive during this time therefore he spent.

− Consequently, James I needed money. He needed money to;

a) Pay off Elizabeth’s debt.
b) To look after his large family.
c) Prices of goods were rising faster than in Elizabeth’s time.
− As a result of the above need for money, James I did the following to raise money.
 a) He began to sell peerages.
b) He raised taxes on imported goods.
c) He borrowed loans from the London banks.
− The members of parliament believed that the king should not raise taxes without their
agreement.
− They grew angry when he lectured them on the divine rights of kings.
− James thought that the MPs were meddlers who were trying to interfere with the way he
wanted to rule the country.
− This was a bad mistake.
− However, most of them i.e the Lords, gentry, clergy and some MPs were loyal to the crown and
James I .

Tudor period

− The Tudor period was the history of England between 1485-1603

− England was under control of monarch by the members of the Tudor and Stuart families.
− The monarch made decisions regarding taxations and laws.
− The monarch had the final say in the matters that affected the state.
− The parliament was made up of members of parliament who represented the wealth of the
kingdom.
− The poor people and the women were not allowed to vote or become MPs.
− In the 16th Century, the parliament demanded to be given more powers and this led to major
dispute between the parliament and monarch.

Parliament today

Characteristics.

− Parliament today has a very important role in running the country.

− The queen is the Head of State, but in reality the government is run by “her majesty
government”
− The political party that has the most MPs forms the government.
− The MPs belong to House of Commons
− Government business and proposed laws are debated in the House of Commons and the House
of Lords.
− parliament is divided into two separate groups

a) House of Lords –made up of people who have either been born into a title (such as Duke) or given
a title by the queen.

b) House of commons - elected members by the people to represent them.

− Election is carried out after five years

− Persons above 18 years are eligible to vote
− The leader of the winning party becomes the Prime minister and appoints other ministers to
important government jobs.

TUDOR PARLIAMENT.

Characteristics

− In Tudor times, the parliament did not meet regularly.

− It was only called when the monarch wanted to pass laws or get permission for taxes to be
collected.
− Parliament did not run the country. It was the job done by the monarch and the council of 20-30
senior government members chosen by the king or queen.
− The MPs job was not just to represent the people but also ensured that the rights of the wealthy
were protected.
− Elections were rare, since if two people wanted to be MP for the same place, one of them
usually stood down.
− Only the wealthy were allowed to vote in case an election was to be held.
− Ordinary people had no say in who became an MP.
− Women were not allowed to vote or stand as MPs.

HENRY VII and HENRY VIII PARLIAMENT.

− Henry VII called his parliament very rarely. This is because he did not introduce many new laws
and tried to avoid foreign wars.
− He didn’t have to call parliament to make laws or raise taxation.
− Henry VIII, passed laws with the help of parliament example changes he was making in religion
’the break from Rome’
− Passed so many laws
− Made many Laws example, His reformation parliament of 1529-36met seventy-eight weeks-
more than parliament met in the whole of Henry VII’s reign!
− Parliament became much more than a’ partner ‘in government.
− Parliament would criticize the monarch’s action and stood up for its own rights.