by Derek Gorman
Some supply ships continued on to Jamestown and were shocked by what they found. Starvation was rife with 80% of settlers dying, and there was evidence of cannibalism by the survivors. The supply ships that returned to England told of the hardships and the need to abandon the colony. However, a certain Lord Delaware refused to accept this. The new supply ships would be well stocked with food, doctors and more colonists. Lord Delaware was also a war monger - he didn’t look for peace with the locals. He sought to capture the land that they needed to survive and after several successful raids - Jamestown had become a permanent colony.
The Native Americans didn’t give up. The wars continued in the 1620s and the 1630s. In 1633, a truce was agreed with the Native Americans. To celebrate the end of hostilities, a toast of liquor was had by over 200 Native Americans and the colonists. Only problem was that the colonists had poisoned the liquor and the Native Americans died or were too weak to avoid slaughter. It wasn’t until 1646 that peace was finally agreed with the tribes pleading allegiance to the King of England and in return received some land that the colonists deemed unimportant.
Jamestown was an enormous success driven by tobacco exports that made it a thriving and important asset for the King. In 1624, King James revoked the Virginia Company’s charter and took control of the colony himself meaning that Virginia would be a Commonwealth of England until 1775 run by a Colonial Governor. It was the English that changed the capital of Virginia to Williamsburg in 1699, and eventually when the United States declared independence from England in 1775, Virginia became one of the original 13 states. Without King James’s ambition and determination to succeed then the history of the United States would have been very different.
Ulster and Northern Ireland.
One of the Ambassador’s other ideas was to start a plantation in Ulster. Something that Lord Sinclair agreed with. Ulster wasn’t civilised and was very rural. King James again waited until he was King of England to begin, and it wasn’t until 1606 that wealthy landowners started private plantations. The aim was to control, anglicise, and instil civilisation in Ulster. It was the region that had been the most resistant to English rule, so had to be controlled.
This meant that English judges were now in charge and didn’t recognise any Irish titles to the land. It was also a British venture (joint English and Scottish), one of the first instances of Britain showing its might in the world. Most of the settlers were Scottish as King James was mindful that now he was living in London he didn’t want the Scots to think he was only focused on the English so as a reward he proclaimed that most of the land would go to his loyal Scots.
To ensure that the plantation was a success, as previous attempts had failed, the plan was to confiscate all the land and then re-distribute it. A quarter of the land would remain for the Irish, but on the proviso they used English or Scottish workers.
As appears to be the way with these ventures, private investors funded the project.
The plantation had mixed success. The excitement of the Virginia Company trumped the Ulster plantation, so the private investment all went towards the New World. By the 1630s, the plantation had 80,000 Brits, probably less than half the total population.
The plan to convert the population to Protestant values also struggled because of language barriers. From the 1640s onwards, the battles became more violent with the Ulster Catholics staging rebellions. Northern Ireland was formed in 1921 to formalise the land owned by the Protestant and Catholic populations, but the desire for a unified Ireland remains. King James’s legacy by bringing Protestants to Ulster continues to create problems centuries after that decision was taken.
Interestingly, in 1611 King James granted William Fowler 2,000 acres (8 Sq Km) of land in Ulster as a reward for his service to the King. We can only speculate why the King granted such vast amounts of land to William. Most of the land he received was in an area called Moyglass, and the islands of Inishfomer, Galleran, and Lougherne. He sold it all in 1615 to Sir John Hume.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
King James’s Legacy
Lovers
King James had an eventful night at the banquet, having close relations with both men and women. He was subject to rumour throughout his reign, and in history there has been significant research and discussion as to the extent of his personal relationships. The gossip surrounding his relationship with Esme Stewart was rife in 1589 and it is widely acknowledged today that Esme played a key part in the King’s life.
The King’s never forgot about him despite their relatively brief time together. After his death, he looked after all of his family and instructed his son and successor Charles I to do the same. As a result, Esme’s family had considerable influence in both the Scottish and English Courts over the next two generations.
The King’s next enormous love was Anne of Denmark. He was infatuated with her at the start and they had a strong and loving marriage until around 1606, which is when they were living apart. It affected both of them deeply. King James had lost interest in his wife and Anne as a result had become sad and reclusive, rarely making public appearances. When she passed away, the King was genuinely heartbroken and composed a poem in her memory. It took him a long time to get over her passing.
Despite his love for her, he was not fateful almost from the start of their marriage, having an affair between 1593 and 1595 with Anne Murray, who later became Lady Glamis. He wrote poems about her, calling her, “my mistress and my love.”
The King and Anne had eight children, but during that time it was rare for babies to survive to adult age. They were lucky and had three grow up: Henry, Prince of Wales; Elizabeth and Charles I. Unfortunately, Henry died from typhoid fever at 18, so Charles was his natural heir.
While the King seemed to enjoy both the company of women and men during his early years, the latter years had rumours of very strong relationships with men.
The first was with Robert Carr in 1607. Carr was only 17 years old whilst King James was 51 years old. He was a strong young handsome man taking part in a jousting contest that the King was in attendance at. A simple young man, not very bright, but he had muscles the size of pheasants. During the contest, Carr was knocked from his horse and broke his leg. The King took a shine to Carr looking after him, and they stayed in touch. He was made Gentleman of the Bedchamber, the role that required guarding of the bedchamber and keeping the King company at night.
As King James had done previously, he bestowed title after title on Carr. Carr became Knight of the Garter, a Privy Counsellor, and Viscount Rochester. Their personal relationship ran into difficulties because Carr eventually fell in love with another woman who he was desperate to marry. However, he needed the King’s help to gain her a divorce from her husband. The King helped, and as a wedding present granted Carr the title of the Earl of Somerset.
That was not the end of the matter. In 1615, a letter was written by the King displeased that Carr had withdrawn from lying in his bed chamber although they had been together hundreds of times. This created a public scandal, and when it was revealed that Carr’s wife had poisoned an opponent of the marriage, the King took his revenge and forcefully insisted that they stand trial. Carr threatened to reveal everything about his sexual relationship with the King if he was to go to prison. The King was so scared of this that two men were posted besides Carr during his trial, with instructions to muffle him if he did so. He didn’t. He refused to admit guilt, but his wife did. They were both sentenced to death, but the King lessened the sentence instead imprisoning them in the Tower of London for seven years after which they could retire to the countryside.
The King’s other big relationship was with George Villiers. He was the son of a Leicestershire knight and they met in 1614. Villiers was incredibly handsome with piercing blue eyes, a strong jawline, and thick black hair. He was intelligent and honest. A step up from Carr.
As the King liked to do, he bestowed title after title on Villiers as well: Knight of the Garter; Viscount Villier
s; Earl of Buckingham; and the Marquess of Buckingham.
What was unusual here was that after being together for eight years, Villiers was then the first commoner in over 100 years to be made a Duke, receiving the title of Duke of Buckingham.
The King wasn’t shy of his love for Villiers, comparing his love to that of Jesus’s love of John. Villiers became an excellent friend of Anne of Denmark. Villiers had become the unofficial husband to the King. King James even referred to him as such. They primarily stayed in Apethorpe Hall, which was the King’s favourite Royal Residence, and whilst renovating it in 2008, a secret passage linking the bedchamber of King James and Villiers was found. Villiers was at the King’s bedside when he passed away.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
King James’s Legacy
Marriage
King James knew that to preserve the Royal bloodline, he had to marry someone suitable and Anne of Denmark was the best match around. On the 20th of August 1589, that finally happened, a month after the banquet. At the Kronborg Castle in Denmark, the ceremony took place with the 5th Earl of Marischal sat next to Anne on the bridal bed where she became King James’s wife. It was a marriage by proxy, with the Earl taking the place of King James - who was safely back in Scotland. This wasn’t unusual as ensuring the marriage took place avoided any embarrassment should the bride or groom change his or her mind, much like Dudley did to Queen Mary all those years earlier.
King James was keen for Anne to begin her life as Queen as soon as possible. She left Denmark within 10 days on her ship Gideon, but there were a series of misfortunes that took place.
First, a naval gun had backfired, killing two gunners - a sign of terrible luck. As would be typical after such a tragic accident, a gun salute took place the next day. However, this too had grave misfortune. The gun exploded, killing one gunner and injuring a further nine of the crew.
Second, the weather had turned for the worse. Storms that hadn’t been seen in Northern Europe for decades slammed waves against the shore pushing against any ships trying to make a journey on the seas. Anne’s ship encountered extreme difficulties and went missing for three days. To compound matters, two of the ships in the flotilla collided, killing two more sailors.
Third, if that wasn’t bad enough. Anne’s ship, Gideon, sprang a dangerous leak and had to divert to Norway for repairs before it could safely continue on its journey. But it leaked again, so returned to dock. A month had now passed, and it was October, so the crews were unwilling to try again given the series of misfortunes that took place and the harsh Scandinavian winters that were about to hit the region.
King James really loved Anne. He heard reports of these issues throughout the period and asked for national fasting and public prayers to ensure safe passage for Anne. Rescue parties were sent. Songs on the radio told of the Greek mythological tale of Hero & Leander to compare the current situation between King James and Anne. Leander was a young man who would swim every night across the sea to see Hero. Hero would light a lamp at the top of her tower to guide his way. Like all great tales, it had a tragic ending when one night Leander drowned on one of his visits to Hero. Upon hearing the news, Hero threw herself over the edge of the tower to her death to be with him.
Whilst this was going on, Andrew and Jane Melville were also about to play their part. They spent a month after the banquet back at Rossend Castle, where they lived near Fife. Jane had been asked to greet Anne in Leith upon her arrival in Scotland and it was an incredible honour that would give her the opportunity to become one of the most important people in Anne’s life providing her with immense power.
During the misfortune that was blighting Anne’s progress to Scotland, Jane too had sea problems. The storms were powerful in Scotland as well. She was on a ferry boat crossing the river Forth between Burntisland and Leith when it capsized in the stormy weather with all but two of the passengers perishing to their death. Jane didn’t survive. When Andrew found out, he was heartbroken. King James too was distraught, and his anxiety about Anne’s arrival to Scotland multiplied. King James was angry - he was always wary of witches and knew that this level of grave misfortune was man made.
King James could not wait any longer and when he found out that Denmark had given up on the sailing, he immediately commissioned his own ship and took 300 advisors and servants with him to personally make the journey. He successfully arrived in Oslo on the 19th of November 1589 after travelling by land from Flekkefjord via Tonsberg. Upon seeing her, he immediately gave her a kiss in public. This shocked Anne as this wasn’t normal custom, and not for a lady - and a Royal one at that. However, she blushed and found this charming.
King James and Anne ended up having a formal wedding in November, with all the pomp and ceremony that you could imagine. The ceremony took place in French so they could both understand it. Anne was beautiful, a stunning bride.
With the marriage finally taking place, a month’s worth of celebrations happened, so Lord Maitland’s offer of beer to commemorate the occasion came in handy. King James really loved Anne, and the couple visited Kronborg Castle in Denmark to meet the Danish Royal family.
Anne was crowned in May 1590 in Holyroodhouse, which was the first Protestant coronation in Scotland. It was a seven hour ceremony, after which King James finally had his Queen.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
King James’s Legacy
The Author
King James shared a lot of his views throughout the banquet, arguably to anybody who would listen. He was a deep thinker and had strong views on nearly every topic. It was therefore no surprise to discover that he published his thoughts to imprint them on the masses.
His first work was published five years earlier called The Essayes of a Prentise in the Divine Art of Poesie, its original purpose to set a standard for all poets to continue writing in the Scottish tradition. It was therefore no surprise that the likes of William and Mark looked up to him. What is interesting about this first work from the King was that given the topic, it was never translated into English for publication in England.
The banquet and time spent with the poets really inspired King James. Two years later he published his guide on creative exercises titled His Majesties Poeticall Exercises at Vacant Houres.
However, it was the next four works by the King that are remembered in history. His most famous work is arguably Daemonologie. King James was always fearful of witches, but the trauma of Anne’s arrival in Scotland and the drowning of Jane led to significant repercussions.
The admiral of the Danish fleet escorting Anne to King James blamed the Danish Finance Minister for not sufficiently equipping the royal ship. To save his bacon, he in turn blamed witchcraft and named Karen the Weaver as the culprit for sending little demons in empty barrows who climbed on board the ships and caused the storms. After being arrested, and tortured, Karen named Anna Koldings as the main Danish witch. She too was tortured and confessed all. There was a group of women who would meet at the house of Karen, and Anna was the Mother of the Devil. She became a celebrity in prison and was found guilty and was burnt at the stake in Kronborg. Twelve women were executed for their involvement in the death of Jane and the troubles that Anne had in her voyage. It was when King James heard this that he set up his own tribunal.
The North Berwick Witch trials were the result, and in 1590 it saw several people accused of witchcraft for all those unbelievable incidents relating to Anne and Jane. The trials ran for over two years and it implicated 70 people, including the Earl of Bothwell, the mysterious stranger who appeared in the night seeking Lord Sinclair’s help.
There were many witches accused such as Dr John Fian, a schoolmaster who had made a deal with the devil to receive immense witching power. He confessed to being one of the head sorcerers but pleaded for forgiveness renouncing his deal with the devil and promising to live a good Christian life. He stayed strong despite the devil visiting him personally the same evening, according to his testimony. Luck was on his side as he escaped pris
on by stealing a key from a guard, but it didn’t last long as he was recaptured and then tortured to gain his confession. The details of the torture methods used are too gruesome to explain. He ended up burnt at the stake.
There were victims too, such as the Earl of Angus who was said to be under the spell of a disease so strange that no doctor could find a cure or remedy.
It wasn’t just Dr John Fian who was accused. There were many who not only were accused but confessed under torture. They admitted meeting the devil in church at night and promising to the devil that they would poison the King and other members of the Royal household and sink any Royal ships. The other major witch of the North Berwick Witch trials was Agnes Sampson, an elderly midwife. Who knows, maybe she was the one who visited Jane and placed a curse on her. She was accused and resisted at first. The importance of Agnes had made its way to the King, so she was tortured and examined in the Royal court. Her first confession was that she caused the storm that killed Jane by sinking a dead cat which had attached to it parts of a dead man, into the sea near Leith. That was the secret of her powers.
Agnes admitted trying to source the King’s shirt or other personal items to repeat the trick when he began his voyage to collect Anne. Agnes said that the devil appeared and offered to help her children and that as a widow she had no choice but to accept. She went to North Berwick and collected bones to make potions. Agnes was also known to make wax images, a precursor to a voodoo doll. She was tried under 53 charges of witchcraft, eventually confessing after having her head shaved and being stripped naked, tortured, and kept without sleep for days. Even then, she didn’t confess until the third interrogation. Agnes was also burnt at the stake in Holyroodhouse on the 28th of January 1591.
