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Jun 19, 1566
Little James is born!
James was the only son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (A.K.A The dude with Syfillis). Both Mary and Darnley were great-grandchildren of Henry VII of England through Margaret Tudor, the older sister of Henry VIII. So this make James part of the Royal English bloodline, therefore has the right of being heir. -
Period: Jun 19, 1566 to
Jame's life on an line
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Jun 24, 1567
Mary, Queen of Scots is imprisoned and abdicates!
In June 1567, Protestant rebels arrested Mary (because she was Catholic and people generally didn't like her) imprisoned her in Loch Leven Castle; she never saw her son again! And on 24 July, Mary was forced to abdicate in favour of her son, James (who was only 13 months old!!) -
Jul 29, 1567
Charles James becomes "James VI"
James was crowned King of Scots at the age of thirteen months at the Church of the Holy Rude, Stirling, by Adam Bothwell, Bishop of Orkney, on 29 July 1567. In accordance with the religious beliefs of most of the Scottish ruling class, James was brought up as a member of the Protestant Church of Scotland. The Privy Council selected George Buchanan, Peter Young, Adam Erskine, and David Erskine as James's preceptors or tutors. Being brought up by these guys,James kindled an affinity to literature. -
Aug 1, 1582
James imprisoned!
In August 1582, in what became known as the Ruthven Raid, the Protestant earls of Gowrie and Angus lured James into Ruthven Castle, imprisoned him, and forced Lennox (James's father's first cousin who was a big influence on James) to leave Scotland. -
Signing stuff with Aunty Lizzy
James signed the Treaty of Berwick; a 'league of amity' or peace agreement between Queen Elizabeth I of England and King James VI of Scotland. For James, his motivation was the chance of succeeding to the English throne upon Elizabeth's death. A part of the agreement ensured James would receive an annual pension of £4,000 from the English state, which led many to assume Elizabeth already considered James as an heir to her throne. -
Mommy in pieces!
James VI. After an unsuccessful attempt to regain the throne, Mary fled to England seeking the protection of her first cousin once removed, Queen Elizabeth I of England, whose kingdom she hoped to inherit.Perceiving her as a threat, Elizabeth had her arrested. After 19 years in custody in a number of castles and manor houses in England, she was tried and executed for treason for her alleged involvement in three plots to assassinate Elizabeth. Long story short, Mary got her head chopped off. -
Spanish Armada Crisis
During the Spanish Armada crisis of 1588 (in which England defeated Spain due to shrewd thinking from Lizzy), James assured Elizabeth of his support as "your natural son and compatriot of your country", and as time passed and Elizabeth remained unmarried, securing the English succession became a cornerstone of James's policy. -
Mawwige!
Throughout his youth, James was praised for his chastity, since he showed little interest in women; after the loss of Lennox, he continued to prefer male company. A suitable marriage, however, was necessary to reinforce his monarchy, and the choice fell on the FOURTEEN-YEAR-old Anne of Denmark, younger daughter of the Protestant Frederick II. The two got hitched in Oslo. The couple had 3 surviving children, Henry, Elizabeth and Charles (the future king of England). -
Witch Hunts!
James's visit to Denmark, a country familiar with witch hunts, may have encouraged an interest in the study of witchcraft, which he considered a branch of theology. He persecuted witches under Witchcraft act 1563. James became obsessed with the threat posed by witches and, inspired by his personal involvement, in 1597 wrote the Daemonologie, which opposed witchcraft & which provided background material for Shakespeare's Tragedy of Macbeth. -
King James I of England!
Elizabeth died in the early hours of 24 March, and James was proclaimed king in London later the same day. The true Tudor bloodline ended with Elizabeth I and James was crowned King James I of England, the first of the Stuart Kings of the combined crowns of England and Scotland. -
Fan of fine literature
James I was a fan of literature and knew Shakespeare was the next best thing and proved to be a generous patron of the theater and of acting troupes. King James grants a patent, or license, to Shakespeare's acting troupe, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. The patent is required for the troupe to perform. They take the name the King's Men to honor the new king. -
The first anti-smoking activist!
James proclaims that smoking is harmful to the lungs and imposes a tax on tobacco! -
The Gunpowder Plot
On the eve of the state opening of the second session of James's first English Parliament, a soldier named Guy Fawkes was discovered in the cellars of the parliament buildings. He was guarding a pile of wood not far from 36 barrels of gunpowder with which Fawkes intended to blow up Parliament House the following day as James put it, "not only ... of my person, nor of my wife and posterity also, but of the whole body of the State in general". Plot failed, Fawkes executed. -
Jimmy's had it!
After the gunpowder plot, Parliament passed the Popish Recusants Act which could require any citizen to take an Oath of Allegiance denying the Pope's authority over the king. -
Jamestown, Virginia
Late in 1606, English entrepreneurs set sail with a charter from the Virginia Company of London to establish a colony in the New World. They reached the land on the 26th of April of 1607 and named their settlement "Jamestown" in honor of the King. -
King James Authorized Version of the Bible published.
The King James Authorized Version of the Bible is published. -
Wee Willie pushing up daisies...
William Shakespeare dies (on his birthday) and the people of England and James I mourn his death. -
Pilgrim Fathers arrive in the New World
The Pilgrim Fathers set sail for America in the Mayflower. They land at Cape Cod and found New Plymouth. The Pilgrim Fathers had fled England fear of/due to religious persecution. -
James I dies, makes Charles king
In early 1625, James was plagued by severe attacks of arthritis, gout and fainting fits, and in March fell seriously ill with tertian ague and then suffered a stroke. James finally died at Theobalds House on 27 March during a violent attack of dysentery.
