James I (King of England)

James VI and I (19 June 1566 - 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI, and King of England and King of Ireland as James I. He was the first monarch to be called the king of Great Britain. He ruled in Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 until his death and he ruled in England and Ireland from 24 March 1603 until his death. His reign was important because it was the first time England and Scotland had the same monarch. He was the first monarch of England from the House of Stuart. The previous English monarch had been Elizabeth I. She had died without any children, so the English agreed to have a Scottish monarch because James was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, thus the closest relative Elizabeth had. By being king of both, he created a personal union. James fought often with the Parliament of England. In addition, he did not use the kingdom’s money well. While James was ruling, the Scottish and English governments were quite stable. After James died, his son Charles tried to rule in the same way as James, but caused the English Civil War. At the end of the war in 1649, Charles was executed. James was very well educated and good at learning. He helped people in England and in Scotland to study things such as science, literature, and art. James wrote Daemonologie in 1597, The True Law of Free Monarchies in 1598, Basilikon Doron in 1599, and A Counterblaste to Tobacco in 1604. He sponsored the Authorized King James Version of the Bible. James was a target of the Gunpowder Plot. A group of Catholics planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament on 5 November 1605 during a ceremony while James was in the building. The plot was stopped when a member of the group, Guy Fawkes, was found in a basement with barrels of gunpowder. The event is remembered every year on 5 November, also known as Bonfire Night,where many people decide to celebrate and light bonfires and fireworks. James believed in witchcraft. When he read The Discoverie of Witchcraft, he ordered all copies of the book to be burnt. The king had an importance with the first English settlers. The first permanent English established settlement in North America was made under the charter granted by James to Sir Thomas Gates and other in 1606.