The Pros And Cons Of James Stuart

In 1603, James Stuart became King James I of England, uniting the countries of England and Scotland under a single ruler for the first time. The English Crown would have given James lots of wealth and prestige but it would also present him with many problems. This report will aim to explore both the positive and negatives aspects of four key areas - the political system, the social hierarchy, the economy and religion – and to assess the situation that James would have been in when he first began to rule England.

The Political System

The political system of England in 1603 was very different to how it is today. The national government consisted of three bodies: the Crown, Parliament and the Privy Council.

The Crown theoretically had absolute

power. This would have pleased James as he was a firm believer in the Divine Right of Kingship – the idea that the King was appointed by God to rule as his representative on Earth – and thought that he should be the supreme power and authority in the country. Furthermore the monarch was able to choose their chief officers and magistrates, dictate foreign policy and (as Head of the Church of England) control the state of religion in the country. However, despite all these powers, in reality they needed the support of Parliament to rule effectively.
The Crown had the power to call and close Parliament when they wanted. As a consequence, Parliament was called very rarely and when it was it usually only sat for about three months at a time. In fact, during the Elizabethan period, Parliament sat for less than three years of Elizabeth’s 45-year reign! James would have been pleased that he was not generally expected to call Parliament all the time – however, it was likely that Parliament would grow mutinous if it was never called. Therefore it would not have been wise for James to try to rule completely on his own. In particular Parliament was needed for legislation and taxation. Although the Crown had the power to issue Royal Proclamations, it still did not possess the full legislative (law-making) abilities of Parliament. If a law proposed in Parliament was approved three times by both houses and then received the royal assent, it would become an Act of Parliament, or statute law. Statutes could only be reversed by other statutes. When the Crown was in financial difficulties (for instance when the country went to war) it often had to rely on Parliamentary taxation. The problem with this was that before Parliament would allow taxation they would try to influence the monarch on other issues.
Parliament was made up of two houses – the House of Lords (also known as the Upper Chamber) and the House of Commons (or Lower Chamber). Typically the House of Lords was more supportive of the Crown as it was made up of the aristocracy (who were granted their titles by the king or queen) and the clergy (all appointed by the monarch). However the House of Commons often disagreed with the monarch as they were common people who won their seats through elections.
Elections in 1603 were far from democratic. Only men could vote and to do so they had to have a certain amount of annual income. Some historians have estimated that as little as 3% of the adult male population could vote! Furthermore there was no secret ballot which meant that voting was more open to bribery or threats. Sometimes voters could even be dismissed from employment or evicted from homes if they voted the wrong way. Since the electoral system was so corrupt, many people felt that their views were not properly represented in Parliament. This could have been a problem for James as it might have meant that there was unrest among the population, particularly the poor. Additionally the people elected into Parliament may not have been those that were best suited for the job, meaning that the government was weaker.
As well as Parliament, the Crown also relied on the Privy Council. The Privy Council was a body of advisors which was made up of the heads of major government departments such as the Lord Treasurer and Chancellor of the Exchequer. In addition to advising the monarch, they carried out administrative work and sent orders to regional government officials such as the Lord Lieutenants. The Privy Council was useful to the monarch as they could turn to it for advice whilst at the same time still having the right to veto any of its decisions.
The Social Hierarchy
In 1603 there was a very clear social structure, with the people at the top of it having significantly more wealth, power and influence than those at the bottom.
The highest position in the social hierarchy was the monarch as they were seen to have been appointed by God.

Then there was the aristocracy, who were people with titles (such as duke, earl or baron). They either received their title by inheritance or were granted it by the king or queen. Usually they were rich and powerful with large households, and in total the aristocracy owned about 15% of the land in England. Therefore, since they had so much power and influence, it was vital that James maintained their loyalty and support. Unlike in France and Spain during this period, the aristocracy had to pay taxes which meant that the House of Lords often sided with the House of Commons in opposing the Crown’s request for taxation, which could pose a problem to James if he was ever in financial

difficulty.
Below the aristocracy were the gentry. They were wealthy individuals who had made lots of money by owning land. Typically, a single gentry family would own about a thousand acres of land, and in total the gentry owned about 50% of the land in England. During the reign of Elizabeth I the number of gentry grew significantly which increased the amount of influence the gentry had and meant that it was important for James to keep them happy.
The fourth social class were the merchants and lawyers. They were essentially businessmen who made a respectable income and were quite well off. Lots of merchants were particularly helped by the surge in wool trade around this time. Many were able to buy land and marry into the ranks of the gentry. However the merchants and lawyers did not have the influence of the aristocracy or gentry so were unlikely to pose any huge problems to James.
Next were the yeomen who were farmers that owned land, generally about 50 acres per family. They worked on their land themselves and made enough money to live an adequate but simple lifestyle. They could be seen as quite important to the running of the country as it was often yeomen who served on juries and joined the local militia – however they still had a relatively low social status.
However the lowest group in society were the poor. Most of these were peasants and labourers who lived in the countryside. They could not afford to buy land outright so had to work on land that they rented. Life was very difficult for them, and many poor people were not able to find work. Lots of these people then became vagrants (travelling beggars). In order to try and help the unemployed and reduce vagrancy, the Elizabethan government introduced a series of laws which culminated in the Great Poor Law of 1601. These laws meant that people who left their local area could be severely punished (even including being hanged) whereas those who stayed in their parish could receive food and money from churchwardens. This helped to put some control on population movement and, although there was still some migration (particularly to London), it brought the worst problems of vagrancy and unemployment under control. Also the government attempted to make it illegal to put up houses for labourers unless they had four acres of land attached but it was impossible to enforce this law. However this did show that the government had some concern for the lower classes of society. Although James may not have been especially bothered about the plight of the poor, it would have been useful for him to make some attempts at reform - otherwise the poor may have grown angry about the disparities of the social hierarchy.
The Economy
In the 16th century the English economy had been affected by inflation and population growth. Elizabeth I had made attempts to restrict the country’s debt but failed to reform the financial system.
In 1603 England was an agricultural country, with the most common occupation being farming, although there was some mining and cloth production. The problem with being heavily reliant on agriculture was that if there was poor weather it could lead to a bad harvest which would heavily damage the country’s economy. For example in the 1590s there were a series of bad harvests which had an extremely negative effect on the economy.
Another factor that affected the state of the economy was the rise in population during the 16th century.

Since there was a higher demand for food and other necessities, there was lots of inflation. Prices rose considerably – food prices went up by about 75%! However wages did not rise alongside prices. One reason for this was the Statute of Artificers which set upper wage limits for skilled workers (such as butchers and carpenters) and meant that as prices rose their wages could not. Many people therefore would have been angry at the government’s mishandling of the economy and would be anxious for reform. The poor were harmed by inflation which resulted in them becoming poorer, but additionally the monarchy and aristocracy faced financial problems as they often rented out their land on long leases with fixed amounts of rent (so as prices rose the rent that they received was worth less). However, for some groups in society population growth proved beneficial. Many people who owned their land outright were able to make more money as the demand for food increased. Additionally there was a growing trade for wool which resulted in sheep farming becoming a worthwhile job. Merchants also grew wealthier and some were able to buy land and move up into the ranks of the gentry. The lesser gentry typically managed their land themselves instead of renting it out so did well financially and improved their wealth and status. This may have been a problem for James as if the gentry became

richer and more confident they were harder to control and more likely to oppose him in Parliament. On top of that the growing gap between the rich and poor could result in protests and calls for reform.
As the Crown faced financial difficulties it needed to rely more on Parliamentary taxation so Parliament was called more often. This gave Parliament more opportunities to express their views and influence the monarch. Therefore Elizabeth tried seeking alternative ways of raising money. One method was to sell monopolies (a monopoly was the exclusive right to make or import certain goods). However this just further increased rising prices and also made Parliament angry. Another way for Elizabeth to make money was by selling land that was owned by the Crown. But although this earned a certain amount of money, it made the monarchy’s financial situation worse in the long-term because there was then less rent coming in from the leasing of land. Therefore Elizabeth was forced to rely on Parliament which meant that they gained influence and power. This situation would not have suited James because he would be forced to rely on Parliament to help him in times of economic hardship. Elizabeth did well in terms of restricting debt though as the country only incurred an additional £123,000 in debt over her entire 45-year reign. However the big problem was that she failed to reform the outdated financial system which may have caused James lots of economic difficulties and left both him and his country short of money.