From Tudor to Stuart

Abstract Based on letters, state papers, drama, poetry, and material objects, this book tells the story of the troubled accession and exciting first decade of James I’s reign. After a chapter on Elizabeth I’s death, funeral, and afterlife, the book turns to the new king, first his reign in Scotland and afterwards his first year in England. These chapters detail the problems that he initially faced: the legacy of his predecessor’s reign, questions about his legitimacy, plots in England, and unrest in Ireland. Overall, this section of the book challenges the traditional assumption that James’s accession was smooth, seeing it instead as a very bumpy ride. The succeeding chapters assess the extent of change that occurred in national political life and royal policies by examining how far the establishment of a new Stuart dynasty resulted in fresh personnel in power, alterations in monarchical institutions, shifts in political culture, and a different direction in governmental policies. The book offers a fresh look at James and his wife Anna, providing some new interpretations of their characters and qualities. Other personalities are not neglected, whether Sir Walter Ralegh, Sir Robert Cecil, Henry Howard, earl of Northampton, or the Scots who filled James’s inner court. The book also brings to life national events and politics of the early seventeenth century, including the 1605 Gunpowder Plot, the establishment of Jamestown in Virginia, the plantations in Ulster, James’s troubles with parliament, and his doomed attempt to bring about union with Scotland.