Foreign Issues of Major Significance and James I's Reign

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Foreign Issues of Major Significance and James I's Reign

"James hated war", says Farmer. He always pursued a peaceful foreign

policy and envisaged himself as a negotiator between hostile European

powers. He demonstrated his even-handedness by marrying his daughter

to a protestant German prince - Frederick of the Palatinate - and

pursuing a Spanish Catholic marriage for his son, Henry. After Henry

died in 1612 he tried to marry his next son Charles to the Spanish

princess, however this marriage was not to be.

In 1618, the Thirty Years War broke out in Europe. The Catholic

southern German states fought against the Protestant northern German

states and each side had help from outside powers - the Catholics from

Spain and the Protestants from Sweden and France. As Protector of the

Protestant faith, it was James' duty to fight for the Protestants, but

this would have brought him into direct conflict with the Spanish and

almost certainly would have destroyed any chance of Charles' marriage

to Isabella, the Spanish princess. James managed to stay out of the

war until 1624 after Charles had travelled to Spain to meet Isabella

and been fobbed off by the Spanish Court, which Charles took as a

personal insult.

Foreign issues were of great importance to the reign of James after

1618 but less so before then. Before 1618, the only foreign policy

that was significant was the proposed marriage of Charles to Isabella.

After the outbreak of the Thirty Years War however all that changed.

James was torn between rival sides but still clung to his hopes of

bridging the gap between them. England's entry to the war had great

repercussions. James ha...

... middle of paper ...

...in 1618. Also of significance was Charles' marriage to

Henrietta Maria, the French princess. She was Catholic and demanded

the right to free worship, which disgusted the populace.

It is hard to say which issue was most significant as they are all

inextricably linked. Religious issues dictated foreign policy; finance

was dependant on Parliament and James' ambitious foreign policies were

dependant on good finances. At the time, foreign issues were of the

highest importance. These issues affected the King's finances and the

calling of Parliaments. But they had little lasting effect after the

war ended. On the other hand parliamentary issues were to play a very

significant role in the coming decades and the debate over what

Parliament's fundamental rights and duties are, continued for many

years after the death of James.

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