Elizabeth was the last of the Tudor family (S376). By birth, James
Stuart, only son of Mary STuart, Queen of Scots, and great-grandson of
Margaret, sister of Henry VIII, was the nearest heir to the crown.[3]
He was already King of Scotland under the title of James VI. He now,
by act of Parliament, became James I of England. By his accession the
two countries were united under one sovereign, but each retained its
own Parliament, its own National Church, and its own laws.[4] The new
monarch found himself ruler over three kingdoms, each professing a
different religion. Puritanism prevailed in Scotland, Catholicism in
Ireland, Anglicanism or Episcopacy in England.
[3] See Genealogical Table, p.207.
[4] On his coins and in his proclamations James styled himself King of
Great Britain, France, and Ireland. But the term "Great Britain" did
not properly come into use until somewhat more than a hundred years
later, when, by an act of Parliament under Anne, Scotland and England
were legally united.
The English Parliament refused to grant free trade to Scotland and
denied to the people of that counttry, even if born after James I came
to the English throne (or "Post Nati," as they were called), the
rights and privileges possessed by natives of England.