England Under James I

Well, now, back to England. What we have discussed previously has a connection with what will follow.

Elizabeth I died in 1603. When she died, there was no successor to the throne who was part of the House of Tudor. The House of Tudor had reigned in England for about 150 years, beginning with Henry II. Since a daughter of Henry VII had married into the Stuarts—and you remember that Mary Queen of Scots was Mary Stuart—who was the ruling family in Scotland, James VI, that infant son whom Mary had left behind when she fled Scotland to England, was the King of Scotland at this time. But, because of that distant family connection, James VI could also make the claim to the throne of England. Thus it was that James VI of Scotland became James I of England. The two countries were not united at this time; they simply shared the same monarch.

James I ascended to the throne of England, and thus he would reign over both of these countries. The Puritans in England anticipated that the coming of James I to the throne would benefit their cause. Why? Because he had been reared in Scotland as a Scottish Presbyterian. But, the Puritans would be doomed to disappointment, for James favored not the Presbyter form of rule and government of the church; rather, he favored the Episcopal form of church rule. And, you recall that the Episcopal form of church rule is having that central bishop, that central individual, who rules, reigns, over the church. It was not unusual that one who was a monarch, one who was a king, would prefer this type of rule, as well, in the church.

In 1603, as James was on his way to London, he was presented with a petition. This petition asked for further reforms in the English church. Early in 1604, a conference of bishops and Puritans came to Hampton Court and met with King James I. James made it very clear on this occasion that he was not interested in, nor was he willing to bargain, or to even listen to, the Puritans. He would issue a threat, an ultimatum, to them. Here is the statement that he is quoted as making, that he would “harry [to torment, or worry] them out of the land, or worse” if they did not conform.

Well, was all for naught? Was there anything of any significance, anything very memorable, that would come out of this conference at Hampton Court in 1604? Oh, indeed there was! Perhaps the most important thing, the most memorable thing that came from this conference was James’ consent for a new translation of the Bible into English. This new translation was published in 1611, and is known as what? It is known as the Authorized, or King James Version, of the Bible. It became widely circulated immediately. When it was published in England, it became very, very popular. It became the standard, and remains so. The last statistics I saw concerning the King James Version of the Bible show that it remains the best-selling, the most popular, translation of the English Bible. I thought that was quite interesting, particularly when we learn sort of the round about way, this circuitous route that James took, and the fact that he was also monarch of Scotland, as well as England. Very interesting.

The Puritans were disappointed in James’ attitude and his unwillingness to employ, to invoke, the things that they desired. However, the Roman Catholics did not fare any better than the Puritans under James. Restrictions against Roman Catholics led to the infamous “Gunpowder Plot” in 1605. There were a few fanatical Catholics who placed several barrels of gunpowder under the Parliament building, hoping to destroy both James and the Parliament. But, the authorities were warned by some sympathizers, and thus, this disaster was prevented. However, the plot did lead to further restrictions against the Catholics.

England Under Charles I

James’ successor to the throne of England and Scotland was Charles I, who became king in 1625. Under James, even though he would not cooperate with all that they desired and would not put into practice all that they wished, the Puritans had still grown in strength to the point where they had become the majority and the ruling power in the Parliament. Charles, who believed even more strongly than did his father in the divine right of kings, simply could not cope with this very hostile Parliament. Finally, in 1629, he dismissed and disbanded the Parliament, and he attempted to rule England by himself until 1640, with no aid from the Parliament. Perhaps Charles’ most serious error was in attempting to force the Episcopal form of church government and the Prayer Book on Presbyterian Scotland. The Scots rebelled, and in order to raise money to carry on the war against them, Charles was forced to call Parliament back into session. This fight that would take place pitted the forces of the king, who were called the Cavaliers, against the forces of Parliament, who were called the Roundheads, of all things.

England Under the Protestant Radicals

The Parliamentary forces were capably led by Oliver Cromwell, a well-known name in the history of England. They would finally defeat the king’s forces. This triumph of the Parliamentarians, led by Cromwell, led to a power vacuum in the country, and it was a vacuum that Cromwell was more than willing to step into. He would become a virtual dictator in this period of time. Charles was condemned, and he was beheaded. This action that they had undertaken sent a veritable shockwave throughout, not just England and the British Isles, but throughout all of Europe. It caused the Cromwellian forces to be considered more radical and more brutal than they really were. As a matter of fact, history records that England enjoyed a period, at this time, of greater freedom of religion than they had ever known before. It was during this time that almost every religious group, including the Roman Catholics, was permitted to worship in accordance with their conscience, so long as they did not disturb the public peace.