The Story of Mankind [108]
of her own grandfather Henry
VII and son of Mary Stuart, her rival and enemy, succeeded
her as James I. By the Grace of God, he found himself the
ruler of a country which had escaped the fate of its continental
rivals. While the European Protestants and Catholics were
killing each other in a hopeless attempt to break the power of
their adversaries and establish the exclusive rule of their own
particular creed, England was at peace and ``reformed'' at
leisure without going to the extremes of either Luther or
Loyola. It gave the island kingdom an enormous advantage in
the coming struggle for colonial possessions. It assured England
a leadership in international affairs which that country
has maintained until the present day. Not even the disastrous
adventure with the Stuarts was able to stop this normal development.
The Stuarts, who succeeded the Tudors, were ``foreigners''
in England. They do not seem to have appreciated or understood
this fact. The native house of Tudor could steal a horse,
but the ``foreign'' Stuarts were not allowed to look at the
bridle without causing great popular disapproval. Old Queen
Bess had ruled her domains very much as she pleased. In
general however, she had always followed a policy which meant
money in the pocket of the honest (and otherwise) British
merchants. Hence the Queen had been always assured of the
wholehearted support of her grateful people. And small liberties
taken with some of the rights and prerogatives of Parliament
were gladly overlooked for the ulterior benefits which
were derived from her Majesty's strong and successful foreign
policies.
Outwardly King James continued the same policy. But he
lacked that personal enthusiasm which had been so very typical
of his great predecessor. Foreign commerce continued to be
encouraged. The Catholics were not granted any liberties.
But when Spain smiled pleasantly upon England in an effort
to establish peaceful relations, James was seen to smile back.
The majority of the English people did not like this, but
James was their King and they kept quiet.
Soon there were other causes of friction. King James and
his son, Charles I, who succeeded him in the year 1625 both
firmly believed in the principle of their ``divine right'' to
administer their realm as they thought fit without consulting the
wishes of their subjects. The idea was not new. The Popes,
who in more than one way had been the successors of the
Roman Emperors (or rather of the Roman Imperial ideal of
a single and undivided state covering the entire known world),
had always regarded themselves and had been publicly recognised
as the ``Vice-Regents of Christ upon Earth.'' No one
questioned the right of God to rule the world as He saw fit.
As a natural result, few ventured to doubt the right of the
divine ``Vice-Regent'' to do the same thing and to demand the
obedience of the masses because he was the direct representative
of the Absolute Ruler of the Universe and responsible
only to Almighty God.
When the Lutheran Reformation proved successful, those
rights which formerly had been invested in the Papacy were
taken over by the many European sovereigns who became
Protestants. As head of their own national or dynastic
churches they insisted upon being ``Christ's Vice-Regents''
within the limit of their own territory. The people did not question
the right of their rulers to take such a step. They accepted
it, just as we in our own day accept the idea of a representative
system which to us seems the only reasonable and just
form of government. It is unfair therefore to state that either
Lutheranism or Calvinism caused the particular feeling of
irritation which greeted King-James's oft and loudly repeated
assertion of his ``Divine Right.'' There must have been other
grounds for the genuine English disbelief in the Divine Right
of Kings.
The first positive denial of the
VII and son of Mary Stuart, her rival and enemy, succeeded
her as James I. By the Grace of God, he found himself the
ruler of a country which had escaped the fate of its continental
rivals. While the European Protestants and Catholics were
killing each other in a hopeless attempt to break the power of
their adversaries and establish the exclusive rule of their own
particular creed, England was at peace and ``reformed'' at
leisure without going to the extremes of either Luther or
Loyola. It gave the island kingdom an enormous advantage in
the coming struggle for colonial possessions. It assured England
a leadership in international affairs which that country
has maintained until the present day. Not even the disastrous
adventure with the Stuarts was able to stop this normal development.
The Stuarts, who succeeded the Tudors, were ``foreigners''
in England. They do not seem to have appreciated or understood
this fact. The native house of Tudor could steal a horse,
but the ``foreign'' Stuarts were not allowed to look at the
bridle without causing great popular disapproval. Old Queen
Bess had ruled her domains very much as she pleased. In
general however, she had always followed a policy which meant
money in the pocket of the honest (and otherwise) British
merchants. Hence the Queen had been always assured of the
wholehearted support of her grateful people. And small liberties
taken with some of the rights and prerogatives of Parliament
were gladly overlooked for the ulterior benefits which
were derived from her Majesty's strong and successful foreign
policies.
Outwardly King James continued the same policy. But he
lacked that personal enthusiasm which had been so very typical
of his great predecessor. Foreign commerce continued to be
encouraged. The Catholics were not granted any liberties.
But when Spain smiled pleasantly upon England in an effort
to establish peaceful relations, James was seen to smile back.
The majority of the English people did not like this, but
James was their King and they kept quiet.
Soon there were other causes of friction. King James and
his son, Charles I, who succeeded him in the year 1625 both
firmly believed in the principle of their ``divine right'' to
administer their realm as they thought fit without consulting the
wishes of their subjects. The idea was not new. The Popes,
who in more than one way had been the successors of the
Roman Emperors (or rather of the Roman Imperial ideal of
a single and undivided state covering the entire known world),
had always regarded themselves and had been publicly recognised
as the ``Vice-Regents of Christ upon Earth.'' No one
questioned the right of God to rule the world as He saw fit.
As a natural result, few ventured to doubt the right of the
divine ``Vice-Regent'' to do the same thing and to demand the
obedience of the masses because he was the direct representative
of the Absolute Ruler of the Universe and responsible
only to Almighty God.
When the Lutheran Reformation proved successful, those
rights which formerly had been invested in the Papacy were
taken over by the many European sovereigns who became
Protestants. As head of their own national or dynastic
churches they insisted upon being ``Christ's Vice-Regents''
within the limit of their own territory. The people did not question
the right of their rulers to take such a step. They accepted
it, just as we in our own day accept the idea of a representative
system which to us seems the only reasonable and just
form of government. It is unfair therefore to state that either
Lutheranism or Calvinism caused the particular feeling of
irritation which greeted King-James's oft and loudly repeated
assertion of his ``Divine Right.'' There must have been other
grounds for the genuine English disbelief in the Divine Right
of Kings.
The first positive denial of the