St. Gregory's 5th grade: August 2013

Welcome everyone!

This month we'll begin reading about The Stuart's family. Good bye Tudors! Hello Stuarts!

James I and VI (1566 - 1625)

Name: King James I

Father: Lord Darnley Henry Stuart

Mother: Mary Queen of Scots

Born: June 19, 1566 at Edinburgh Castle

Ascended to the throne: March 24, 1603 aged 36 years

Crowned: July 25, 1603 at Westminster Abbey, also as James VI of Scotland at Stirling Castle on July 29, 1567

Married: Anne, Daughter of Frederick II of Denmark and Norway, on November 23, 1589

Children: Three sons and five daughters, of whom three survived infancy; Henry, Elizabeth and Charles

Died: March 27, 1625 at Theobalds Park, Hertfordshire, aged 58 years, 9 months, and 7 days

Buried at: Westminster Abbey

James was king of Scotland until 1603, when he became the first Stuart king of England as well, creating the kingdom of Great Britain.

James was born on 19 June 1566 in Edinburgh Castle. His mother was Mary, Queen of Scots and his father her second husband, Lord Darnley. Darnley was murdered in February 1567. In July Mary was forced to abdicate in favour of her infant son. James's tutor, the historian and poet George Buchanan, was a positive influence and James was a capable scholar. A succession of regents ruled the kingdom until 1576, when James became nominal ruler, although he did not actually take control until 1581. He proved to be a shrewd ruler who effectively controlled the various religious and political factions in Scotland.

In 1586, James and Elizabeth I became allies under the Treaty of Berwick. When his mother was executed by Elizabeth the following year, James did not protest too vociferously - he hoped to be named as Elizabeth's successor. In 1589, James married Anne of Denmark. Three of their seven children survived into adulthood.
In March 1603, Elizabeth died and James became king of England and Ireland in a remarkably smooth transition of power. After 1603 he only visited Scotland once, in 1617.
One of James's great contributions to England was the Authorised King James's Version of the bible (1611) which was to become the standard text for more than 250 years. But he disappointed the Puritans who hoped he would introduce some of the more radical religious ideas of the Scottish church, and the Catholics, who anticipated more lenient treatment. In 1605, a Catholic plot to blow up king and parliament was uncovered. James's firm belief in the divine right of kings, and constant need for money, also brought him into conflict repeatedly with parliament.
Abroad, James attempted to encourage European peace. In 1604, he ended the long-running war with Spain and tried to arrange a marriage between his son and the Spanish Infanta. He married his daughter Elizabeth to the elector of the palatinate, Frederick, who was the leader of the German Protestants. James's eldest son Henry died in 1612 and his wife Anne in 1619. James himself died on 27 March 1625 and was succeeded by his second son, Charles.

The Gunpowder Plot

In 1605, a group of disaffected Catholics plotted to assassinate King James I by blowing up the House of Lords. They hoped to restore Protestant England to Catholicism and end the persecution of their faith.

The 'Gunpowder Plot' was foiled at the eleventh hour, an event still celebrated annually on 5 November and named for the most famous of the conspirators - Guy Fawkes Night. But who was Guy Fawkes and what are we remembering?

More information about: The Gunpowder Plot

"Remember, remember, the 5th of November; Gunpowder, treason and plot; I see no reason why gunpowder, treason; should ever be forgot."

And it hasn't. Four centuries later we still celebrate the capture of Guy Fawkes, under the House of Lords, with 36 barrels of gunpowder, matches and fuses, about to blow up King James I and his parliament. But why did Catholics such as Fawkes plan to blow up the king and how was the plot foiled?

Persecution of Catholics

When James I became king in 1603, Britain was a Protestant country following decades of tension and violence between Catholics and the new religion. The monarch was the head of the church, with no loyalty to the pope in Rome. Catholicism was a religion not just disapproved of by the state but actively suppressed.

Persecution of Catholics had become more and more severe during the reign of Elizabeth I, particularly after the attempted invasion in 1588 by the Catholic Spanish Armada, which had been supported by the pope. By the time of Elizabeth's death, Catholic priests were forced to say Mass in secret in private houses and Catholics were required to attend Protestant services. Those that didn't were fined as 'recusants'.

But on the accession of James I, hopes for a better future were high. His wife was a Catholic, as had been his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots. All the early signs were encouraging, as reforms were made, even extending as far as the abolition of recusancy fines.

But by 1605, under pressure from advisors such as his 'spymaster' Sir Robert Cecil, and in an effort to placate more extreme Protestants such as the Puritans, James once again increased penalties on those who still practised the Catholic religion.

Discontent grew to the extent that some Catholics were willing to take extreme measures, sponsored and supported by the Catholic monarchies of Europe. Two plots against James had already failed by the time five men met in a London inn to discuss a new plan.

The plotters and their plan

The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, as it became known, was the brainchild of Robert Catesby, a well-to-do gentleman of Warwickshire. Together with Guy Fawkes and three other plotters, they formulated a plan to strike at the opening of parliament on 5 November. With the king dead, they would put James' daughter, Elizabeth, on the throne, returning Britain to the Catholic fold.

Fawkes posed as a servant called John Johnson, and began sourcing gunpowder. The plotters rented a cellar under the House of Lords and packed it with enough explosive to kill the king and the most powerful men in the land as they sat in the room above.

The 'Monteagle Letter' betrays the plotters

As the plot neared fruition, something happened which would prove its downfall. Lord Monteagle, the brother-in-law of one of the plotters, received an anonymous letter which warned against attending Parliament for the opening.

Monteagle passed the letter to Robert Cecil, who decided to wait before taking action. The plotters had no cause to believe their plan was in danger.

Guy Fawkes is arrested

On 4 November 1605, Cecil ordered searches of the whole of the Houses of Parliament, and Fawkes was arrested. He was found dressed for a swift exit with spurs on his boots.

Fawkes endured two days of torture in the Tower of London before confessing all. It was enough to buy the remaining plotters time to escape.

Some of them desperately attempted to instigate the planned Catholic uprising, but to no avail. The plotters made their final stand at Holbeche House in Staffordshire, where several, including Catesby, died in a shoot-out with the king's men. The survivors were taken back to London for trial.

Torture and execution

Over the course of the next few weeks, the surviving plotters and many others were interrogated. On 30 and 31 January 1606, eight people, including Fawkes, were executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered. Three more were executed in the following months. Even those who had perished at Holbeche House were exhumed and decapitated.

The legacy of the Gunpowder Plot

In the aftermath of the plot, James I was in no mood for tolerance. New laws were passed removing Catholics' right to vote and restricting their role in public life. It would be another 200 years before these restrictions were fully lifted.

While religious differences between Catholics and Protestants have largely been forgotten on mainland Britain, we continue to celebrate the deliverance of James I and the execution of his would-be assassins - most notably Fawkes - every 5 November.

The power of this single image - the burning of a 'guy' atop a bonfire - has ensured the plot endures in the national memory.

Click on the following images to watch a video about The Gunpowder Plot.

Charles I of England

Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his royal prerogative, which Charles believed was divinely ordained. Many of his subjects opposed his attempts to overrule and negate parliamentary authority, in particular his interference in the English and Scottish churches and the levying of taxes without parliamentary consent, because they saw them as those of a tyrannical absolute monarch.

Charles's reign was also characterized by religious conflicts. His failure to successfully aid Protestant forces during the Thirty Years' War, coupled with his marriage to a Roman Catholic, Henrietta Maria of France, generated deep mistrust among Calvinists. Charles further allied himself with controversial ecclesiastics, such as Richard Montagu and William Laud, whom Charles appointed Archbishop of Canterbury. Many of Charles's subjects felt this brought the Church of England too close to Roman Catholicism. His religious policies generated the antipathy of reformed groups such as the Puritans. His attempts to force religious reforms upon Scotland led to the Bishops' Wars, strengthened the position of the English and Scottish parliaments and helped precipitate his own downfall.

Charles's last years were marked by the Civil War, in which he fought the forces of the English and Scottish parliaments. He was defeated in the First Civil War (1642–45), after which Parliament expected him to accept its demands for a constitutional monarchy. He instead remained defiant by attempting to forge an alliance with Scotland and escaping to the Isle of Wight. This provoked the Second Civil War (1648–49) and a second defeat for Charles, who was subsequently captured, tried, convicted, and executed for high treason. The monarchy was abolished and a republic called the Commonwealth of England, also referred to as the Cromwellian Interregnum, was declared. In 1660, the monarchy was restored to his son, Charles II.

Another source for you to read.

Charles I (1600 - 1649)

Charles I was king of England, Scotland and Ireland, whose conflicts with parliament led to civil war and his eventual execution.

Charles I was born in Fife on 19 November 1600, the second son of James VI of Scotland and Anne of Denmark. On the death of Elizabeth I in 1603 James became king of England and Ireland. Charles's popular older brother Henry, whom he adored, died in 1612 leaving Charles as heir, and in 1625 he became king. Three months after his accession he married Henrietta Maria of France. They had a happy marriage and left five surviving children.

Charles's reign began with an unpopular friendship with George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, who used his influence against the wishes of other nobility. Buckingham was assassinated in 1628. There was ongoing tension with parliament over money - made worse by the costs of war abroad. In addition, Charles favored a High Anglican form of worship, and his wife was Catholic - both made many of his subjects suspicious, particularly the Puritans. Charles dissolved parliament three times between 1625 and 1629. In 1629, he dismissed parliament and resolved to rule alone. This forced him to raise revenue by non-parliamentary means which made him increasingly unpopular. At the same time, there was a crackdown on Puritans and Catholics and many emigrated to the American colonies.

Unrest in Scotland - because Charles attempted to force a new prayer book on the country - put an end to his personal rule. He was forced to call parliament to obtain funds to fight the Scots. In November 1641, tensions were raised even further with disagreements over who should command an army to suppress an uprising in Ireland. Charles attempted to have five members of parliament arrested and in August 1642, raised the royal standard at Nottingham. Civil war began.

The Royalists were defeated in 1645-1646 by a combination of parliament's alliance with the Scots and the formation of the New Model Army. In 1646, Charles surrendered to the Scots, who handed him over to parliament. He escaped to the Isle of Wight in 1647 and encouraged discontented Scots to invade. This 'Second Civil War' was over within a year with another royalist defeat by Parliamentarian general Oliver Cromwell. Convinced that there would never be peace while the king lived, a rump of radical MPs, including Cromwell, put him on trial for treason. He was found guilty and executed on 30 January 1649 outside the Banqueting House on Whitehall, London.

Click on the following images to watch a video about King Charles I's reign.