By defeating the Armada (with considerable help from the weather), England remained independent and Protestant. The Spanish defeat also established England as a sea power. Spain's sea power continued to decline while England's power grew. The way was now clear for England to establish colonies.
Elizabeth's chief contribution to England was her long life and reign. She ruled England for forty-five years, giving her country a period of much needed stability. Much of the credit for stable government goes to Elizabeth, but much of it must also go to her leading minister, William Cecil, Lord Burghley.
James I
When Elizabeth died in 1603, she left no direct heir. The nearest relative was her cousin, James I in Scotland. James' accession to the English throne united the crowns of Scotland and England, and James was the first to call himself king of Great Britain. However, it was only a personal union. A constitutional union of government would not be achieved until the Act of Union in 1707.
England welcomed James, the first of the Stuart kings. He was Protestant and had children, thus insuring a Protestant succession. Parliament thought James would be easy to handle; however, problems were developing. The war with Spain and an Irish rebellion during Elizabeth's last years had drained English resources. Elizabeth had been forced to sell crown lands to meet government expenses.
Parliament soon learned that James would be difficult to control. James and Parliament began to quarrel almost immediately. Although James was a well educated man, he did not know when to be quiet. James believed in the divine right of kings; and he said his right to rule came from God, not from the consent of the people. Not satisfied with the considerable power left him by the Tudors, James insisted that any restrictions on his power were wrong. England had had a long tradition of parliamentary checks on royal power, and Parliament did not like to hear James' opinions. James further alienated Parliament when he said the people's liberties were gifts of the king who could take them away if he wished. According to James, these liberties were not the people's as the Magna Carta said.
James' position was unwise. Parliament became so irritated with him they refused to vote revenues, and James always needed money. When Parliament refused to provide the money he requested, James dissolved that Parliament. He raised money through borrowing, selling crown lands, granting monopolies, increasing the number of impositions (custom duties), and selling titles. The title of baronet was created expressly to raise money. In 1607 Parliament claimed the regulation of custom duties was partly their responsibility, but James claimed it was exclusively his responsibility. The Parliament of 1621 launched a general attack against James' economic policy and monopolies. In 1624 Parliament passed a statute against monopolies and impeached the lord treasurer.
James' problems with Parliament were complicated by two factors. First, government costs were rising and so were the incomes of parliamentary members, but Parliament insisted on the right to control levies. Second, two groups had grown in importance. One was the gentry, the landed gentlemen who ranked just below the nobility. The other was the merchants and manufacturers. Both groups had considerable economic importance; and, through their representatives in Parliament, both groups were eager to increase their political power at the crown's expense.
James also disappointed the Puritans. Since James came from Presbyterian Scotland, the Puritans had hoped he would make reforms in the Anglican church. James liked the church as it was, however, partly because of the control it gave the crown. Puritans wanted separation of church and state and abolition of bishops. James feared that such reforms would undermine the established order. With the end of the war with Spain in 1604, James believed he did not need Puritan support. He allowed the Archbishop of Canterbury, Richard Bancroft, to suppress the Puritans. Many of the Puritans left for America.
The Gunpowder Plot
The Gunpowder Plot made James decide he might need the support of the Puritans after all. The plot was a project of some Catholic extremists led by Guy Fawkes. Their goal was to blow up the king and Parliament at the opening of Parliament on November 5, 1605. These extremists had tunneled under the Parliament building from a neighboring building and placed kegs of gunpowder underneath. The plot was discovered and Guy Fawkes was executed. James declared November 5, a national holiday and it remained so for two hundred years. Even today, Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated all over England with bonfires and fireworks.
With the help of the new Archbishop of Canterbury, George Abbot, a partial detente was reached with the Puritans. One reform James did allow was the translation of the Bible into English. Begun in 1604 and completed in 1611, the translation is now known as the King James Version of the Bible.
