James'
Theory of Monarchy. James espoused the divine right
of kings. In 1597-1598, he wrote two books promoting his absolutist
theory: The Trewe Law of Free Monarchies and Basilika Doron, a book
of instruction for his son. In Trewe Law, James explained that kings
are a higher form of being than other men and are not subject to
the law. "[Kings arose] before any estates or ranks of men,
before any parliaments were holden, or laws made, and by them was
the land distributed, which at first was wholly theirs. And so it
follows of necessity that kings were the authors and makers of the
laws, and not the laws of the kings." James counseled his son,
in the Basilika Doron, to hold no Parliament unless new laws were
needed, and new laws should be needed "but seldom."
James'
Accession to the English Throne. Elizabeth I's well-known
reluctance to name a successor to her throne did not stop James
from intriguing to be named her successor. In the two years before
Elizabeth's death, her minister, Robert Cecil, carried on a secret
correspondence with James. He instructed James on how to correspond
with Elizabeth and flatter her. Even though Elizabeth never named
him as her heirs, within hours of her death (1603), James was proclaimed
king.
The
Gunpowder Plot. The tensions between English Protestants
and Catholics flared up during the early portion of James’
reign. The Bye Plot was a conspiracy by a secular Catholic priest
to kidnap James and force him to repeal all anti-Catholic legislation.
The plot was revealed to the government by Jesuit priests afraid
of an anti-Catholic backlash, and the conspirators were tried and
executed in 1604. Investigation of the Bye Plot led to discovery
of the Main Plot, a conspiracy by English Catholic nobleman to overthrow
James with the help of Spain and replace him with his cousin, Arabella
Stuart.
The Gunpowder Plot is the most famous
of all of these early plots. It involved a sensational plan by some
provincial English Catholics to blow up the Houses of Parliament
during the State Opening on November 5, 1605. The most famous conspirator
was Guy Fawkes, an explosives expert. The Gunpowder Plot was significantly
advanced at the time of its discovery. The conspirators leased a
cellar directly beneath the House of Lords. Thirty-six barrels of
gunpowder were stored in the undercroft below the House of Lords,
hidden by a store of winter fuel.
The plot was discovered when one of the
conspirators, by letter, warned a fellow Catholic noble—who
planned to attend the State Opening—of a “terrible blow”
that would be dealt to the Parliament. The letter was handed over
to Cecil, who ordered a search. The night before the State Opening,
Fawkes was discovered guarding the explosives; he was arrested,
tortured, and, eventually, executed. Other conspirators were arrested
and executed.
Five days after Fawkes’ arrest,
James addressed Parliament and described the plot to its members.
He attributed the plot to a minority of Catholics and did not call
for widespread retribution against English Catholics. He also used
this opportunity to expound on one of his favorite themes—the
divine right of kings. Another result of the Gunpowder Plot was
an increased interest in the demonic, which may have inspired Shakespeare
to dramatize Holinshed's supernaturally-laden history.
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