How important was James I himself in contributing to the difficulties he faced?

James I had to deal with growing financial problems. These problems were created by years of rising prices which left the royal income increasingly unable to cope with the expenses of government. The second reason and perhaps the most important was that James’s handing of money and aspects of his extravagant lifestyle led to financial irresponsibility. And this in time made the difficult problems facing James I, far worse.

Despite being faced with these difficulties, the King and the parliament both resisted a fundamental reform of the royal finances. If the reform had been successful, James I would have been given financial independence and a regular parliamentary income of £200,000. However, it was his fear of losing a useful means of controlling his more powerful subjects that provoked his withdrawal.

James was constantly overgenerous towards his friends and favourites, in particular Scotsmen, to the extent of being financially irresponsible. This caused significant amount of parliamentary anger which was amplified by his lifestyle and behaviour towards his courtiers. The King’s love of hunting, preferred company of handsome young men and excessive eating and drinking caused corruption and scandal beyond the parliament.

Some believe that James’s extravagances were insignificant compared to the underlying financial problems which were beyond individual responsibility. However, it is evident that his behaviour and lifestyle added to the existing problems and increased its political effects.

In the first few years of his reign, there was visible irritation between the king and the parliament. James believed that Kings were chosen by Gods. To this the House reacted sharply which caused a crisis between the king and the parliament. The issue was resolved when James suspended the parliamentary session and quietly allowed it to be dropped. This shows how his beliefs and views contributed to his fragile relationship with the parliament.

James desired a ‘perfect’ union between England and Scotland, seeing it as an opportunity to reform and improve the governing systems of both kingdoms. However, the English and Scottish strongly disagreed with this idea. Furthermore, MPs refuse to accept the idea that English institution could be improved by importing Scottish goods. Sir Edwin Sandys suggested to get rid of Scottish law and replace it with the English law. This attitude was insulting to the King but further aggravated his generosity towards the Scots. This aroused more complaints from MPs.

When James I came into power, Catholics hoped he would ease the persecutions they suffered. Puritans hoped his upbringing would lead to a favourable reform. James did suspend the collections of fines for recusancy, however he received complaints from the parliament and faced loss of income which made him reimpose the fines. This led to extremists looking for help from Spain and in 1605 to the Gunpowder Plot (attempt to blow up the Parliament with the King inside). This shows his unpopularity and his inability to satisfy religious groups.

During the 30 years war, James initial approach was to stand back however when the time came for him to act, he lacked the means to do so. He firstly used the allies in Spain but also prepared for was as a back up plan. He summoned the parliament to discuss the war and they agreed to 2 payments and then moved on to discuss other matters. Parliament suggested a use of a naval war although realistically a land war was needed. James thought that this debate stepped over the Parliamentary privileges and reminded the parliament of their rights. He then cut the rights of parliament from the Commons Journal. This raised the ultimate tension between the two and increased the existing fears.