by Derek Gorman
Lord Sinclair asked Lord Maitland to discuss a serious matter with him elsewhere. Lord Maitland didn’t need to know more. He was pleased to leave the room. They made their way up the stairs to what was Lord Maitland’s chambers the previous evening. Lord Sinclair closed the door carefully behind him and took out some tobacco from his jacket. Lord Maitland laughed and remarked, “you sneaky fellow.”
“Well, the King has got me stressed. I can see that every minute that this storm continues will lead to a more difficult King.”
“Don’t fret, fellow. It will all be over soon,” said Lord Maitland reassuringly.
“But what if it isn’t?” asked Lord Sinclair.
“In that case, you’ll be doomed,” replied Lord Maitland giving off a snigger.
They both then enjoyed the tobacco and had a moment of serene quiet. Smoke being blown by the two gentlemen with Lord Maitland blowing smoke rings. Their moment enjoying the calm and peace came to a crashing end when the door swung open and there was the King. They were caught red handed smoking. The King was bored, so had ventured upstairs to join the men. The look on his face was one of disappointment, but he was resigned to his fate so didn’t kick up a fuss. The King once again just muttered something incomprehensible and left, closing the door behind him.
“Do you think we are in trouble?” asked Lord Sinclair.
“Most definitely, but don’t worry us naughty schoolboys will take our beatings like a man,” replied Lord Maitland strongly slapping Lord Sinclair on the back with his booming laugh once again reaching out.
When they had finished smoking, they both returned to the banqueting hall, which really was a sorry sight. The King sat on his chair, looking bored. Lady Maitland and Lady Sinclair were sat next to each other but not really saying anything. The Ambassador who had made his way to join everyone looked as if he was counting the seconds until this was all over. What a contrast this sight was from just the evening before when it was a banquet, the likes of which people would remember for ages.
Lord Sinclair couldn’t dwell too much on his own self pity as there was a sudden crash from above. Everyone jumped up, curious as to what it was. The King bellowed out, “Come, let’s go to the dovecot, I assume.”
Everyone did as they were told, so they all followed the King up the stairs to the dovecot. And there was Claude making lots of commotion, much like during the previous evening. Everyone still had the memory of yesterday in the front of their minds and were worried about the fate that was about to bestow Claude. The King didn’t have his normal glimmer in his eye. He seemed resigned to being stuck in this awful place with no beloved poets, or even the indigenous woman to keep him company, so the King just muttered something incomprehensible and went back downstairs. Everyone was pleased that this was the result but a little concerned as they hadn’t seen the King behave like this too often, so they were fearful for what would happen next.
The hours had passed, and we were now into the late afternoon with no let up in the weather. The Ambassador seizing the opportunity approaching the King.
“I am wondering if I could have a few moments of your time to discuss a private matter?”
“I guess that would be ok, what else am I to do,” asked the King to himself.
They made their way up the stairs to the King’s quarters and sat down, ready to talk.
“Your Majesty, many think of me as an old fool, but the New World is the future. Mark my words, in times to come it will be an empire and frontier that will pave unlimited riches for he who is brave enough to conquer it.”
The King groaned. The Ambassador must have had the curse of the old with his memory failing him.
“Whilst the recent expeditions by the English have been unsuccessful,”, continued the Ambassador. “There is untapped potential. Previous issues have been the strategy taken. Guns or butter has been the problem. Previous expeditions have either been too heavily focused on either the military side or the trading side. The solution requires balance. That way the indigenous people will respect and fear your armies but, will welcome them for all that they can bring.”
The King groaned at having the same conversation as the previous evening. He figured that the Ambassador won’t remember this conversation, so he just agreed to fund the expedition and then muttered something incomprehensible before leaving to return downstairs. The Ambassador was left sitting with a beaming smile across his face before eventually following the King back downstairs.
Everyone was hungry, so the King instructed Lord Sinclair to bring out the food. Lord Sinclair complied and asked the servants to serve the food. A few minutes passed and what came out was Ox Soup and more bread. No ale or wine.
“What is this?” asked the King.
“I’m sorry your Majesty,” said a trembling Lord Sinclair, “we were cleaned out yesterday of all the food and alcohol so this is all we have left.”
“Ok, before we eat let the poets bless our food and peak our spirits,” instructed the King.
“I’m afraid the poets left this morning, remember?” replied Lord Sinclair.
The King once again just muttered something incomprehensible and waved that everybody could eat. The meal was taken in silence with no conversation. What a sorry sight compared to the extravagance that was on display the previous evening.
The meal was finished and everyone just went straight to bed. This storm was keeping them together for another night, at least. Who knew how long this storm would continue for? It isn’t inconceivable that it might last for days, or even a week, that had happened before in the brutal Scottish climate.
CHAPTER TWELVE
In the middle of the night, Lord Sinclair was woken by some commotion. He went downstairs and could hear the roar of horses in the distance. Still half asleep, he couldn’t quite get his bearings. He could hear that the storm seemed to have abated. He therefore opened the door and just got a glimpse of the King’s procession departing. It looked like the King took the first opportunity of the let up in the storm to leave. This wasn’t wholly unusual, as the King attending your home was a big enough privilege. Lord Sinclair went back inside, relieved that the King had departed and slept soundly until the morning.
In the morning, the storm had been replaced with a bright sunny day. After breakfast, it was time for the guests to depart. Lord & Lady Maitland were the next to depart.
“Sinclair, I was worried I would be trapped in your company for days given how the storm was raging but I’m glad it was only two nights. I guess that you put on a decent banquet,” said Lord Maitland.
“Thank-you Lord Maitland. Selfless as always in your ability to give compliments,” replied Lord Sinclair. The two friends/enemies shook hands and Lord & Lady Maitland departed in their carriage, and off they went back to their life of wealth and privilege.
Next to leave were the Melvilles.
“Thank-you so much for inviting us, we will remember tonight forever and really appreciate us being part of the celebrations,” said Andrew.
“Yes, I really enjoyed it. It helped take my mind off things a little but I’m really grateful to have been here,” contributed Jane.
“That’s ok. In fact, the King asked me to request that you, Jane, go to greet and collect Anne of Denmark when she arrives in Scotland,” said Lord Sinclair.
“Wow, I would be honoured,” replied Jane.
“See,” said Andrew, “your luck is turning already. This is the start of a bright future. You might end up being best friends!”
They were a bit too grateful, showing their awkwardness and appreciation more than a more refined guest would have, but Lord Sinclair didn’t mind this. He quite liked the fact that they were so happy to have been a guest of his.
“It was a pleasure to have you here, have a safe journey back,” wished Lord Sinclair as the Melvilles departed.
Finally, it was the Ambassador’s turn. He was dressed impeccably like all elderly gentleman of that day. He looked tired, and Lord Sinclair was co
ncerned whether he could survive the lengthy journey back.
“Don’t worry,” said the Ambassador. “We’ll stop along the way in York for two days to rest and take care of some business. I’ll then finish the journey back to London.”
And with that - the last guest had departed. It was now just Lord, and Lady Sinclair stood in the doorway of their magnificent castle. They had pulled it off. They had hosted a banquet fit for a King. And with that, they went back inside to unwind after the stresses of the last 48 hours.
III
The Aftermath
CHAPTER TWELVE
King James’s Legacy
Political
The banquet was politically charged. Whether it was discussions on English battles or King James’s own traumatic past - all roads led to political turmoil.
It is therefore no surprise that King James left a political legacy and changed the landscape of England, Scotland, Europe, and the United States for many years to come.
First King of England and Scotland.
King James VI did eventually become the first king of a united England and Scotland. He was known as King James VI of Scotland and King James I of England. This happened in March 1603. Shortly after his accession to the English throne, the King left Edinburgh for London and promised to return every three years, much like he did in his conversation with Lord Maitland.
However, his head was turned by London and he rarely ended up visiting Scotland, both breaking his promise and his principles whereby a King should remain in touch with his subjects. He was in awe of the wealth of England, both as a country and what the people had. He was quoted as saying, “I’ve swapped a stony couch for a deep feather bed.”
King James liked the Tower of London as Lord Maitland predicted. The menagerie of wild animals was a treat for all of London to enjoy, not just the King. Under his reign the collection was extended to include three eagles, two pumas, a tiger, a jackal, and more lions and leopards. He also had the lions’ den refurbished so that visitors could see more of the lions prowling around. He also wanted the experience to be enhanced so visitors could also see the lions drink and wash themselves.
King James’s cruelty towards Lord Sinclair’s homing pigeon Claude was nothing compared to the popular sport of bear baiting that thrived during King James’s reign. In this sport, a bear would be chained to a stake by its leg or neck and then vicious dogs would be unleashed in the bear pit to attack the bear to see who would survive. The bear would always be saved before death, as the cost of bringing bears from abroad was significant. Two streets in London called Bear Gardens and Bear Lane still exist today as a gruesome reminder of what used to take place on those spots many years ago.
However, things were far from ideal. England was heavily in debt, a legacy of the wars that Elizabeth had fought. King James’s priority was to establish a single country under one King, one parliament and one law. In 1604, the English Parliament refused his title to become King of Great Britain on legal grounds. This didn’t stop the King, who used the title anyway and forced the Scottish Parliament to acknowledge it.
There were several plots against the King. The closest to succeeding was by Guido Fawkes, the angry young Catholic man that the Ambassador met in York on his journey to the banquet. He was more commonly known as Guy Fawkes and on the eve of the 5th of November 1605 was camped under the English Parliament with 36 barrels of gunpowder that he hoped to blow up the Houses of Parliament killing the King in the process. The plot failed, and it is still an annual tradition today in England to celebrate the failure with firework displays.
The King frequently had run-ins with Parliament and prorogued it when he became fed up by their resistance to his ideas. At its worse, Parliament was closed for years at a time and the King ruled like a dictator.
After the gunpowder plot, the King sought to control English Catholics to a greater extent. Various laws were passed forcing allegiance to be sworn to the King over the Pope. To avoid the confusion of different translations and discrepancies amongst the approved books of the Bible, King James commissioned an official version to be put together. The Authorised King James Bible as it is known was completed in 1611 and is still in widespread use today.
The King’s stubborn belief in the divine right of Kings and his period of self rule coupled with financial irresponsibility led the foundations for the English Civil War. The seeds of that stubbornness and financial irresponsibility was nothing new as he had the same traits whilst King of Scotland. What really made things much worse was that after becoming King of England, the sheer wealth of England enabled his delusions of grandeur to go even further.
King James passed away in 1625. His son Charles I took the brunt of that anger in 1649 when he was the first (and only) King of England to be executed by the people which led to Great Britain becoming a Republic for 11 years until the monarchy was re-established and continues to this day.
The English Armada.
The English Armada in 1589 which had been such a colossal failure financially and politically was a key gripe of the guests attending the banquet. The consequence of that failure led to a combined Anglo-Dutch force putting pressure on the Spanish which had conquered large parts of Dutch land. Successful victories in Breda in 1591 kick started new confidence amongst the English forces, and many Dutch cities fell back into Dutch control. The English were well compensated for their contribution in freeing the Dutch from complete Spanish rule.
However, the Spanish were far from beaten and were re-equipping their ships ready for more bloody battles. What turned the war in England’s favour was the introduction of the private sector into the war. Several self funded war ships attacked Spanish assets with the blessing of Queen Elizabeth - their reward for any victories over the Spanish was the right to keep any treasures they found. By the end of the war, nearly 1,000 vessels had been seized by this private army. However, this merely maintained the status quo as the Spanish were too powerful to be fully defeated.
By the end of the 16th Century, the war had been costly for all sides and they had all become battle weary. Spain had a new King and was desperate to make peace. However, their demands were to maintain the current land that they owned across the continent. Something that wasn’t acceptable to England or the Dutch. It was only after King James made his eventual ascent to the throne of England in 1603 that peace did finally come through the Treaty of London in 1604. The new Kings of England and Spain saw the pain that the war had inflicted on both sides, and it was only when the previous rulers had passed away that peace could be made.
The key terms agreed were that Spain would accept that England would not be Catholic and would stop further direct or indirect attempts to influence it in that direction. In return, England allowed Spanish merchant ships to pass through English waters and removed all military and financial support for the Dutch rebels. This treaty did not go down well in England with many feeling they were abandoning the Dutch. The Spanish were delighted seeing a chance to seize control.
The Dutch fended off Spain until 1609, partially due to unofficial support from England. Eventually, Spain had become bankrupt from the costly wars, so a truce was signed between Spain and the Dutch which established the Dutch Republic.
King James further built ties with Spain by arranging the marriage of his son, the Prince of Wales to Maria Anna, the King of Spain’s daughter. This caused uproar in Parliament because of the King’s family marrying into the Catholic Spanish Royal household. The marriage didn’t go ahead as there was too much political pressure and also because the Prince of Wales and Maria wouldn’t convert to the other’s religion.
The New World.
The two previous attempts to settle in the New World in the 1580s had been massive failures, so the Ambassador’s attempts to try again were scoffed at. The mystery surrounding the Lost Colony was never solved. Some theories suggest that the colonists assimilated with the Native Americans and that some of those in the villages had European features.
Others believe that they tried to rescue themselves by attempting to sail back to England, but that the ship sank during the journey. Finally, they could have been slaughtered by the Native Americans or attacked by the Spanish. Despite immense interest, there has not been any archaeological evidence discovered to solve the mystery.
The timing of the Ambassador’s plans had been poor given the negative impact of the English Armada on the confidence in British naval power. However, this made sense for an ambitious King James who kept the idea in the back of his mind. After taking the English throne, a joint stock company was setup in 1606, the Virginia Company, in a similar structure to the company that was setup to facilitate trade with Russia by the Ambassador all those years earlier.
The Virginia Company led two voyages to the New World within a year. One voyage had 105 men and 39 sailors who travelled for 144 days before they finally arrived in the New World. To avoid attack, they sailed westward until they reached a shoreline they felt was defendable and established Jamestown, named after King James. Investors received gold and other minerals sent back to England, but the success of the colony depended on regular trading.
The only problem with the location was that it was largely cut off from the mainland and had little hunting or fresh drinking water and limited farmland.
The second voyage had about 100 men who sailed for three months and eventually landed at Maine, but because of limited resources, it failed and they sailed back to England within a year.
It was therefore feared that the first voyage would also be a failure because of a lack of resources. Supply ships were instructed to head to the New World to support the colonisation. In 1612, several supply ships found themselves in hurricane-force winds and ended up stranded in Bermuda. The Virginia Company therefore claimed the land as their own and spun off a separate company called the Somers Isles Company that controlled Bermuda until 1684, which is when the King of England took control of it. Something that continues to this day.
