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1. The reign of James I

he17^th century was a period of constant change in English history. The political crises which were caused by the civil wars, the king’s execution, Restoration and the Glorious Revolution affected the lives of every single person and were reflected in all spheres of the creative arts.

• Foreign policy and trade

Elizabeth’s death in 1603 resulted in the Union of the Crowns as James VI of Scotland became James I of England. He was the first Stuart king of England, the son of the rebellious Mary, Queen of Scots.

Like all the Tudors, Elizabeth had appreciated the importance of trade, and of securing the support of the merchant class. James I, who came from Scotland with its underdeveloped industry and negligible foreign trade, quickly threw them into opposition by his cautious and frankly pro-Spanish policy. After all the years of England’s struggle for domination over Spain, James had no desire to see the Spanish monarchy humiliated to the greater glory of English trade.

In 1604 the war with Spain was ended with a peace treaty that was openly criticized in England, because it did not specifically secure the right of trade with Spanish colonies. Soon peace with Spain passed into a policy of actual alliance, which infuriated the merchants and the Protestants. The navy was neglected. Traders complained of the attacks of pirates even in the English Channel. By that time, the Dutch had already driven Portugal from the East Indies, called ‘the Spice Islands’, and soon Holland began to replace Spain as England’s chief rival at sea.

The importance of spices can only be understood if we remember that during the greater part of the winter months, the population of England had to live on salted meat. Turnips and hay were little used, so the shortage of fodder made it necessary every autumn to kill off cattle and sheep and salt their meat. Although salt was expensive, and imported to England from abroad, the salting was usually so liberally done, that a good amount of spices was necessary to make the meat edible.

• The Gunpowder Plot

A change in James I’s foreign policy led to a complete reversal of the situation at home. Under Elizabeth and up to the time of the Gunpowder Plot the Catholics had been in active opposition to the Crown. In 1605 a group of the king’s opponents wanted to blow up Parliament during the king’s speech from the throne. The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, or the Powder Treason, as it was known at the time, was a failed attempt by a group of provincial English Catholics to kill King James I, his family, and most of the Protestant aristocracy by blowing up the Houses of Parliament during the State Opening on 5 November 1605. The plot was intended to begin a rebellion during which James' nine-year-old daughter (Princess Elizabeth) could be installed as a Catholic head of state.

Guy Fawkes assisted in filling the room with gunpowder which was concealed beneath a wood store under the House of Lords building in a cellar. The 36 barrels contained 1800 pounds of gunpowder. If they had been successfully ignited, the explosion could have destroyed many of the buildings in the Old Palace of Westminster complex, including the Abbey, and would have blown out windows in the surrounding area of about a 1 kilometre radius.

Fawkes was left in charge of executing the plot, while the other conspirators left London to await news. Once the parliament had been destroyed, the other conspirators planned to start a revolt in the Midlands.

During the preparation, several of the conspirators were concerned about fellow Catholics who would be present on the appointed day, and inevitably killed. One of the conspirators betrayed the plot by writing an anonymous letter of warning to his brother-in-law Lord Monteagle. The letter read: “I advise you to find some excuse not to attend this parliament, for they shall receive a terrible blow, and yet shall not see who hurts them”.

The tip-off led to a search of the vaults beneath the House of Lords, during the night of November 4. At midnight on November 5 a party of armed men discovered Fawkes not far from about twenty barrels of gunpowder, posing as “Mr. John Johnson”. Fawkes was arrested. Far from denying his intentions during the arrest, Fawkes stated that it had been his purpose to destroy the King and the Parliament. He was taken to the Tower of London and there interrogated under torture. All the Conspirators were executed.

Today the English still mark Guy Fawkes’ Night with bonfires and crackers and the following rhyme:

Remember, remember the Fifth of November –

Gunpowder Treason and plot.

For I see no reason why Gunpowder Treason

Should ever be forgot.

With the development of friendly relations with Spain and, later, after the marriage of Charles I to the French Henrietta Maria, Catholics enjoyed a period of court favour. Both James I and his son Charles I were the descendants of the rebellious Mary Queen of Scots. No wonder they were supported by Scotland and by English Catholics.

• The Pilgrim Fathers

At the same time, the Puritans, who had developed their religious views in the relative freedom of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, were outlawed by James I. In 1620 a large group of Puritans had to escape first to Holland, and then to America. They sailed on board the Mayflower which carried them from Plymouth to their new life in North America. The Pilgrim Fathers, as they later came to be known, hardly survived the first winter. It was the aid of the American Indians that saved them from death: the Indians taught the Pilgrims to grow maize which later became the main grain crop for hundreds of years. In 1621 the Pilgrims harvested a good crop and celebrated the first anniversary of their stay in North America by giving thanks to the Lord – that was the first Thanksgiving Day celebration.

The Puritans, as well as the Protestants, were drawn from the classes which had been the main supporters of the Tudors. They opposed the regime of James I which, they believed, was working to restore Catholicism. In this way, opposition to the Crown became identified with patriotism, and support of the monarchy – with those who were connected with England’s foreign enemies. By their foreign policy, the Stuarts lost what had been the main source of the Crown’s strength – its alliance with historically the most progressive class in the country.