James I (1566-1625) of England was also James VI of Scotland. He became James VI of Scotland in 1567 when his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots, was forced to give up that throne. When his cousin Elizabeth I of England died in 1603, he also became James I of England. He ruled both England and Scotland until his death. His son Charles I succeeded him.
James was born on June 19, 1566, in Edinburgh. He belonged to the House of Stuart, spelled Stewart by the Scots. This royal family had ruled Scotland since 1371, and five of the Stuart kings had been named James. When James VI of Scotland succeeded to the English throne, he became the first Stuart king of England.
James was a scholar who wrote works on theology, witchcraft, and the divine right of kings, the belief that kings receive the right to rule directly from God rather than from the people. In practice, however, James worked with Parliament rather than ruling in the manner of a divine-right king. When his son and successor, Charles I, later sought to rule without Parliament, it led to a civil war.
James faced opposition from the Puritans, a religious group that wanted “to purify” the Church of England. James sponsored a new translation of the Bible, published in 1611, that became known as the King James Version. However, he refused to make other Puritan reforms.
Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America, was established and named in James’s honor in 1607. Some Puritans migrated to America in 1620 and founded Plymouth Colony. James showed an interest in colonies only in Northern Ireland, where he seized land from Irish Catholics and gave it to English and Scottish Protestants. James died on March 27, 1625.
