Jacob I biography

A few more children died in infancy. His childhood passed in constant troubles, while the regents ruled the country until that moment: Count Moray, Count Lennox, Count Mar and Count Morton, who waged a internal war. Jacob was an extremely frail child: at seven he could barely stand on his feet. He had no tendency to any physical exercises except hunting. Already in adulthood, he could not do anything standing: he could even think or talk only lying down.

At the same time, he was quite smart, educated and eloquent, fond of poetry and theology. In the city of Jacob VI, she was a great -grandson. At first, the British had high hopes on Jacob: the Catholics were waiting for the termination of persecution, and Puritan to continue the reform.

Jacob, however, tried to hold on the middle, giving both vague promises. The Catholics were freed from fines and gave freedom of conscience, but they did not provide freedom of worship. This led to a number of conspiracies against Jacob. The most famous was the “powder conspiracy” when the rebels led by Guy Fox wanted to blow up 36 barrels of gunpowder during the opening of the session of the parliament in the city.

Their plan was disclosed at the last minute. In memory of the failed conspiracy on November 5, the British annually celebrates the “Night of Bonfires” or “The Night of Guy Fox”, when armed people with torches go around the basement of the parliament building and “look for” the barrels with gunpowder. Jacob began repressions against Catholics, in particular, forbade them to occupy public office.

The king had no less problems with the Puritans. From the very beginning, they began to demand the independence of the church from secular power and the destruction of the bishopric. Puritans began a long -term war against the king, and over time, political ones were added to religious requirements. Jacob, like the rest of the Stuarts, constantly lacked money, and he was forced to contact parliament for subsidies, but received a refusal over and over again.

Jacob opened the parliament several times, introduced new taxes on the forest, wine, leather, sold noble ranks, but the treasury, plundered by the favorites, was constantly empty. Upon arrival in England, Jacob brought him closer to the wife -like handsome Robert Carra, a former groom, and even made him a chancellor. However, in fact, the power was seized by a friend of Carra, Thomas Overbury.

However, in the city of Carr and Overbury they quarreled, the latter was imprisoned in the Tower and soon poisoned by order of Carr. Carr was sentenced to death, but Jacob replaced it with a link. However, this scandal greatly hit the king’s reputation. Soon after the expulsion of Carr, the king acquired a new favorite. They became George Willires, who later received the title of Duke Buckingham.

He had no advantages except beauty and grace, but received many posts at the court. Jacob called the next parliament, which immediately dismissed Chancellor Bacon. It was a serious blow to autocracy. Jacob, however, did not have time to feel him fully, as he died shortly after that, leaving the throne to his son Karl. For the further development of the country's economy, a speedy elimination of feudal order and replacing them with capitalist public relations were required.

But on guard of the feudal system stood old, obsolete forces. An enormous role in protecting the old system and counteracting the new, bourgeois system was played by English absolutism. Already during the reign of the First Stuart, it was fully revealed that the interests of the feudal nobility expressed by the crown came into an irreconcilable contradiction with the interests of the bourgeoisie and the new nobility.

In addition, Yakov was a stranger for England, who did not know the English conditions poorly and had a completely false idea of ​​both the “indescribable wisdom” of his own person, and about the power of the royal authority. Contrary to the desire of the bourgeoisie to free entrepreneurship, its tireless search for new ways of enriching Jacob I planted a system of monopolies, i.e.

the system of monopolies gradually covered many industries, almost the entire external and significant part of domestic trade. The royal treasury received significant amounts from the sale of patents entering the pockets of a small clique of court aristocrats. Monopolies also enriched individual capitalists associated with the yard. But the bourgeoisie as a whole from this policy of monopolies clearly lost.

She lost the freedom of competition and freedom of disposal of bourgeois property - the necessary conditions for capitalist development. The government regulation of industry and trade was equally hostile to the interests of the bourgeoisie.The requirement of a seven-year student as a preliminary condition for some kind of craft, picky supervision of government agents not only for the quality of the products, but also for the quantity and nature of tools, for the number of students and apprentices engaged in the same workshop, for the production technology, they made it difficult for any technical innovations, enlargement of production, its restructuring on capitalist principles.

In the papers of the peace, there are every now and then long lists of persons against whom judicial persecution for violation of the royal statutes that regulated craft and trade in a purely medieval spirit were aroused. So, for example, in the Somerset, four cloths “for a hot iron of cloth in violation of the statute” were involved in the court. Five other cloths were fined "for stretching and pulling the cloth and for mixing with cloth and hair and for the presence of unnecessary short threads." A tanner appeared before the court for selling the skin without a stigma.

This government custody of industry and trade, carried out at first glance in the interests of the consumer, was actually pursued only by the purpose of the abundance of treasury merchants and artisans through fines and extortions. Feudal obstacles in the development of industry made a manufactory, despite the most severe operation of the manufactory workers, a little profitable sphere of capital application.

Money in industrial enterprises was invested extremely reluctantly. As a result, the development of the manufactory was sharply inhibited, a lot of technical inventions remained unused. Numerous masters from Germany, Flanders, France, who appeared under the Tudors in England and introduced technical innovations, now leave England and move to Holland.

Foreign trade became virtually a monopoly of a narrow circle of large, mainly London, merchants. On London there was an overwhelming part of foreign trade. Back at the beginning of the 17th century, London’s trading duties made up thousands of pounds, while all other ports combined, there were 17 thousand pounds. The development of domestic trade everywhere has come into medieval privileges of city corporations, which in every possible way blocked access to city markets "strangers".

The growth of both domestic and foreign trade was delayed, especially English export was damaged. The balance of the foreign trade in England became passive: in the year, the import to England exceeded the export of almost thousands of pounds. Quoted by ed. Volume V. The foreign policy of Jacob I Yakov I was completely in no considered the interests of the bourgeoisie in his foreign policy.

The development of the English overseas and, first of all, the most profitable - colonial trade everywhere came into the colonial predominance of Spain. The whole reign of Elizabeth was in a fierce struggle against this "national enemy" of Protestant England. The popularity of Elizabeth in London City was largely held on this. However, Yakov I, instead of continuing the traditional policy of friendship and union with Protestant Holland, policies directed against the common enemy - Catholic Spain, began to achieve peace and alliance with Spain.

The Spanish ambassador, Count Hondomar, who arrived in London, became the closest adviser to Jacob I. The sluggish and passive policy of Jacob during the thirty years of war contributed to the defeat of Protestantism in the Czech Republic, as a result of which his son -in -law, the Palatz Elector Friedrich V, lost not only the Czech crown, but also his hereditary lands. In response to a request for help, Yakov fell upon Frederick V with accusations of inciting Chekhov to the "rebellion".

You have arrived very well to England to spread these principles among my subjects. ” Instead of an armed performance against the Habsburgs, Jacob I took up the plans for the marriage of his son-the heir to the throne of Karl with the Spanish infanta, in which he saw the key to further strengthening the Anglo-Spanish Union and the means to replenish the empty treasury with the help of a rich dowry.

So the intra-English and international feudal reaction closed; In feudal-Catholic Spain, the English feudal aristocracy saw its natural ally. Catholics were involved in this conspiracy. Jacob I Yakov I, King of Scotland in - gg. King of England in - gg. The son of Maria Stuart and Henry Darnley. This harsh ascetic current acquired more and more supporters in England, almost from the very beginning, the Puritans began to demand the independence of the church from secular power in England since the time of Henry VIII, the king officially headed the church and the destruction of the bishopric to this could not agree “there is no bishop - there is no king!

Without independent income, he could not pay this money and had to constantly turn to the parliament for new subsidies, in which he was usually refused. The annoyed king in the city to collect funds involuntarily had to resort to numerous abuses that did not add popularity to him. Parliament G.Having dismissed him, Jacob with his power introduced taxes on wine, forests, and skin. In order to find money, he devastated state forests, sold the ranks of peers and baronets, forced the nobles to enter the knights, forbade the construction of new houses in London and sold the abolition of this ridiculous order expensive.

But with all these means, he could not replenish the treasury, constantly devastated by his self -loving favorites. Soon, upon arrival in England, Jacob brought him closer to the wife -like handsome Robert Carra, who previously served as a groom. In a short time, Carr reached the highest posts in the state, received the title of Count Sommerstet, and in G. he did not have any government talents, but his friend, Thomas Averbury, turned out to be a clever businessman and actually ruled England for several years.

Somerset, unfortunately for himself, quarreled with an overbure, imprisoned him in Tower and poisoned him there. The court sentenced the temporary worker to death, but the king replaced it with a link. This scandalous and dirty story, unfolding in front of England, greatly dropped the prestige of the stewarts. The place of Sommerstet was soon occupied by Georg Willires, also an extremely beautiful and well -built young man.

The king could not refuse his favorite. Having rapidly passing all the steps of the hierarchy, Willires received the title of Count and then the Duke of Bekingham and many posts that gave him the annual income in thousands of pounds, and, in addition to beauty and grace, he had no other merits that could justify his elevation. Jacob called his third parliament. As soon as he gathered, the chambers began to attack the royal favorites and achieved the resignation of Chancellor Bacon.

Agreeing to this, Jacob made an important precedent who had far -reaching consequences.