GUID: 2431770h Scotland 1567-1707

Question: James VI is considered to have been a successful monarch politically. Do you

agree?

James VI of Scotland and I of England oversaw one of the largest periods of political

change in the History of the British Isles. Initially his reign over Scotland was deeply affected

by and linked to two main events of the 16th century: the reformation and the civil war

following the abdication of James’ mother Mary Queen of Scots1. At just over a year old

(while his mother was still alive) he ascended to the throne in 1567. When his minority

officially ended in 1578, he took over full power and became a formidable and well-

educated ruler2. James VI oversaw a period of massive change in not only Scotland but over

the rest of Britain too. His reign over Scotland would last 58 years (a very long time for a

Stewart monarch) and he had many problems to contend with Including radical protestants,

the borders and the highlands. The intention of this essay is to examine these problems,

how James tried to solve them and determine if he was a politicly successful Monarch.

The reformation came very late In Scotland and with much less urgency than it did in

England. It was implemented for political reasons rather than spiritual reasons and

implementation was very rushed and disorganized3. The Kirk, though popular was very

politically weak. It often appeared to make up policy as it went along rather than having a

set agenda or plan. The Kirk and the ultra-conservative Calvinists within it did make an

attempt to influence James in his adolescence, the Kirk made sure he was educated by
1
Haggart, Craig “The succession and early reign of James VI ‘, p1. 2018.
2
Haggart, Craig “The succession and early reign of James VI ‘, p2. 2018.
3
Haggart, Craig “The succession and early reign of James VI ‘, p1. 2018

1
George Buchannan who was not only one of the greatest scholars in Europe, but an

established Calvinist. This attempt to indoctrinate James failed, 4 and he was deeply

suspicious of the Calvinists and their motivations throughout his reign5. This came to a head

in the 1580’s when the kirk wanted to add a presbytery court to the courts they already

controlled (i.e., the general assembly etc.). James saw this as attempt by the Kirk to gain

even more power. The other major problem James had with the kirk was due to work done

by his own teacher George Buchanan who wrote in “Rerum Scoticarum Historia”. It stated

that kings had a right to rule through the will of the people and that the people had the right

to resist the “tyranny of kings”.6 This way of thinking quickly adopted by the Calvinists who

then saw it as their right to go against the king’s wishes or even kill the King if he was

considered to be to be “ungodly”.7 He had the writings of Buchannan collected and

burned8. This had only a small effect and James and his wife were regularly denounced and

chastised openly from the pulpit and the balance of power seemed to be tipping in the

favour of the Kirk. This was the first real test of James’ political acumen and he set his sights

firmly on regaining control of the Kirk. So, when an anti -catholic riot broke out at the

general assembly in Edinburgh, James saw it as a shrewd opportunity to bend the situation

to his political will. He blames the riot on the kirk and threatened to move his court from

Edinburgh to St. Andrews. This would have cost the city of Edinburgh dearly financially. In an

attempt to make him reconsider James was paid 20,000 merks and more importantly he was

given the power to decide not only when the General assemblies would be held but where.

He moved the Assembly away from the radical support bases of St. Andrews and Edinburgh
4
Houlbrooke , Ralph James VI and I : Ideas, Authority, and Government. Routledge, . P-45. 2006
5
Haggart, Craig “The succession and early reign of James VI ‘, p5. 2018.
6
Haggart, Craig “The succession and early reign of James VI ‘, p4 2018.
7
Haggart, Craig “The succession and early reign of James VI ‘, p4 2018.
8
Houston, S.J. “ James I “ p3, 1995

2
to more moderate places such as Perth and Dundee. 9 Thus, James was able to manipulate

the situation to not only his financial but political gain ‘a problem which had been uniquely

absent … since the success of the reformers in 1560: the role of that king in a kirk hitherto

free from effective and consistent royal interference, let alone control’.10 As a result, James

was very much in a position of political power over the Kirk.

James’s dearest political ambition from the very beginning of his reign as an adult,

much like his mother Mary, was to be named as Elizabeth’s heir and unite the kingdoms of

Scotland and England. He however, succeeded where his mother had failed. . James was the

obvious heir apparent to the English throne through the marriage of his mother Mary

Queen of scots to Lord Darnley, as they were both direct decedents of Elizabeth’s father

Henry VII11 . James did everything in his power to make sure that it happened. When his

mother was found guilty of plotting the assassination of Elizabeth in 1587 James, rather than

protest saw it as yet another political opportunity. He said in a letter to Elizbeth that his

mother “12 must be content to drink of all that she has brewed.” To an outsider this may

seem cold, but one must remember that James had been effectively abandoned by his

mother, and that although he was the only obvious heir to the crown of England, he still

needed Elizabeth to legitimise his claim to help ensure a smooth transition. 13 He made no

public protest and insured his future and also received a very healthy pension from the

English for his troubles.14 Although he needed Elizbeth’s blessing, this does not mean he

wasn’t willing to take risks if it better suited him politicly. During the Anglo- Spanish war for

9
Haggart, Craig “The succession and early reign of James VI ‘, p6 2018
10
Wormald, ‘James VI and I’, p. 634. 1983
11
Lockyer, Roger “ James VI & I.” p.7 1998
12
Travers, James. “James I The masque of monarchy.” P.8, 2003
13
Mathew, David “James I” p.56 1967
14
Haggart, Craig “Government, regal union and absentee Kingship: Scotland to 1625” p.1, 2015

3
example, frustrated with Elizabeth’s continued refusal to acknowledge him as her heir,

James openly sympathised with Spain.15 He put pressure on Elizbeth by the mere implication

that his friendship with Spain could mean he would invade England. He had no real intention

of doing this but keeping Elizbeth under constant political pressure ensured she wouldn’t

forget that James had power in his own right.

Elizabeth continued to publicly refuse to acknowledge James as heir until she was

on her deathbed. As an unmarried, childless female monarch with questionable parentage

any male heir was a threat to her life. There was however no such resistance amongst her

subjects. The very fact she refused to acknowledge his right to succeed her publicly worried

her subjects16. Politically James was already in a strong position as far as the English court

were concerned, so that when Elizabeth did die on the 24th of march 1603, it only took eight

17
hours for James to be declared king of England . A monarch taking over the leadership of

another rival country could have easily led to war and uncertainty, but James’ political

manoeuvring throughout Elizbeth’s reign ensured a smooth peaceful transition

For a lesser political mind, the task of ruling Scotland from England could have been

insurmountable, but it came easily to James. Despite there being little of no direct contact

between the people of Scotland and their king18 (James only visited Scotland once after the

union) James was a very effective political leader. He took steps to ensure that the noble

men of Scotland were on his side and implemented a series of checks and balances to

ensure they couldn’t become any more powerful than he would allow them to become in

15
Mathew, David “James I” p.4 ,1967
16
Houston, S.J. “ James I “ p26, 1995
17
Travers, James. “James I The masque of monarchy.” P.10, 2003
18
Lockyer, Roger “ James VI & I.” p.4 , 1998

4
his absence19 . He also continued to undermine the Kirk’s authority from afar. Taking the

land they had claimed after the reformation and giving it to his newly appointed hereditary

peers ensuring their loyalty. He made his privy council in Scotland as powerful as the

assembly and stopped the kirks stranglehold in parliament, by adding two elected

representatives, elected by freeholders of each shire in the country 20 . He used these lairds

and free holders to undermine the kirk and bolster his political position by ensuring that all

the important decisions were taken out of the general assembly and only made at the

freeholders assembly. James had always remained sceptical of the kirk’s motives and ideally

would have abolished the general assembly all together, but even he saw the importance of

the kirk in maintaining law and order. So, in 1606 James restored the episcopate – the order

of bishops. The bishops were all appointed by, and therefore loyal to James21. The Bishops

took over many of the functions that had been performed by the presbyteries , the body of

church elders who oversaw the court representing the local congregation , so from the

ground up James and the crown were very much in control of the kirk and these measures

were an excellent way of making sure any plans they had to regain power in his absence

were impossible . He also learned very quickly the value of giving away small amounts of

power in return for loyalty and by doing this he insured he could control all areas of the

country with his loyal members of parliament. This was very politically shrewd and ensured

every member down to the shire councils were picked by men who were loyal to James 22.

He further cemented his political power through the creation of the Committee of Articles.

19
Lockyer, Roger “ James VI & I.” p.16, 1998
20
Haggart, Craig, ‘Government, regal union and absentee kingship: Scotland to 1625’ p.5, 2015
21
Houston, S.J. “ James I “ p61, 1995

22
Haggart, Craig, ‘Government, regal union and absentee kingship: Scotland to 1625’ p.1, 2015

5
The Committee was comprised of 32 members all hand-picked by James for their loyalty. 23

All potential parliamentary business had to pass through the committee first, the only

exception to this rule was James himself who had no limitations to what he could or

couldn’t put in front of parliament. This meant that parliament became merely a means to

ratify decisions already made by the Committee of Articles24 and the king. As the

committee’s only job was to ensure James’s decisions passed smoothly through parliament,

he had a complete strangle hold on political power.

The union also allowed James to deal with a long running problem he had had through his

reign in Scotland. The Borders were always a source of much frustration to James. For much

of the 16th centaury the people of the borders subsisted through raids, stealing cattle and

goods from both sides of the Scottish and English borders. They occupied what was known

as” the uncertain land” between the two. The borderers themselves before the union didn’t

recognise the authority of either country. After they had committed a raid, they’d simply

cross the border to avoid prosecution 25in whichever country they had committed the crime.

Before the union there had been some attempts at cooperation between England and

Scotland to tackle the lawlessness in the borders but these attempts had largely ended in

failure . When James then became king not only of Scotland, but England too, this problem

was ones and for all effectively addressed once and for all. The measures he took were

harsh but were very effective, both practically and politically.26 Firstly, anyone with an

outstanding warrant on either side of the border was hanged immediately without trail.

Many of the troublemaking families were banished to Ireland. He then enforced laws in the

23
Haggart, Craig, ‘Government, regal union and absentee kingship: Scotland to 1625’ p.6, 2015
24
Lockyer, Roger “ James VI & I.” p.18, 1998
25
Haggart, Craig, ‘ The problems within the borders and the highlands’ p.2, 2015
26
Lockyer, Roger “ James VI & I.” p.178 1998

6
borders making raiding almost impossible, including abolishing the right to bear arms and

the right to own a horse worth more than thirty pounds (i.e. making sure if you did have a

horse the authorities could easily outrun it). This, along with the introduction of the

commission at Carlisle, made raiding a lot less appealing and as a result law and order was

restored to the borders.

James’ reign was not without its failures. He attempted a similar tactic to the borders with

the highlands, they too were mostly lawless and dependant on interclan warfare and looting

as their main source of income27. Unlike with the borders, James’ attempt to instil law and

order was largely a failure with little lasting impact. It was still the most law abiding the

Highlanders would be for at least another 130 years, but James’ death and his sons failure to

continue to implement his father’s policies lead to James’ only real political failure in

Scotland 28

In conclusion, despite his trouble with the highlands James’ political successes far

outweighed any failures he had in Scotland. He used his political acumen to control the kirk

and the borders. He also peacefully gained the English crown and effectively ruled Scotland

from afar. He was a very politically successful monarch.

27
Haggart, Craig, ‘ The problems within the borders and the highlands’ p.7 2015
28
Haggart, Craig, ‘ The problems within the borders and the highlands’ p.2, 2015

7
Bibliography

Haggart, Craig “The succession and early reign of James VI ‘Glasgow University,
2018

Haggart, Craig, ‘The problems within the borders and the highlands’, Glasgow
University 2015

Haggart, Craig, ‘Government, regal union and absentee kingship: Scotland to

1625’, Glasgow University 2015

8
Houston, S.J. “James I “, London : Longman, 1995.

Lockyer, Roger “James VI & I.” London : Addison Wesley Longman1998

Mathew, David “James I” , London : Eyre & Spottiswoode1967

Travers, James. “James I, The masque of monarchy.” Kew: National Archives,

2003

Wormald, ‘James VI and I’, Queen's University, Belfast 1983

9
10