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The starts had been kings of Scotland since the 14th century.When Elizabeth died childless，JamesⅥof Scotland，descended from a sister of Henry Ⅷ，was heir to the English throne；he thus became king of both countries as JamesⅥof Scotland and James Ⅰof England.James had been brought up in Scotland by the Calvinists¹ who had deposed his mother，Mary Stuart；but he resented the domination of the Presbyterian Church which adhered to Calvinist doctrine.He thought that Calvinism and Presbyterianism were a threat to the royal authority.So after he became king of England，he was determined not to allow the Church of England to become Presbyterian like the Church of Scotland.

Two years after he came to England，he was the target of an assassination plot when a group of English Catholics planned to kill him by blowing up the House of Lords when he opened parliament on Nov.5，1605.At the last moment one of them told their secret in order to save the lives of his Catholic cousins in the House of Lords.A search was made under the parliament buildings，and a man called Guy Fawkes was found with matches in his hand and a barrel of gunpowder at his side.The whole of parliament was frightened and the plotters were arrested or executed.November 5th is still called Guy Fawkes Day.On the evening of the day a figure representing Guy Fawkes is ceremonially burnt and a firework display is arranged.The occasion is usually accompanied by a supper or barbecue and is held both publicly in parks and recreation fields and privately in the gardens of houses.

James Ⅰwas a bigot who believed that kings were responsible only to God and not to any parliament.From France he took the doctrine of the divine right² of kings，which even the strong Tudor Monarchy had avoided talking of.He was determined to make the Church of England subservient to his will，and persecuted Puritans and Catholics with ferocity.He left most government business in the hands of his favorites like the Duke of Buckingham³.He scorned the House of Commons and had no minister among its members.He was extravagant and wasteful，and to raise money he sold peerages and monopolies in trade to the highest bidder.The English public soon grew to resent his despotism and the Puritan philosophy quickly gained its hold on Englishmen.Though James Ⅰwas tactless and stubborn，he was quite learned and full of vigor.In his reign the Authorized Version of the Bible⁴（1611）was made by his command.He managed to continue his reign with little help from parliament until his death in 1625.

James Ⅰ，James’son，succeeded to the throne in 1625.He proved a thoroughly unreliable and treacherous monarch.He depended on his father’s favorite，Buckingham，who brought him into violent disagreement with parliament.In 1629 Charles，in anger，dissolved parliament，and ruled without it for 11years.Under his Catholic wife’s influence he took Catholics as his ministers.Thousands of Protestants were persecuted and many of them were forced to leave the country.James Ⅰcollected taxes without the approval of parliament.He asked people for“loans”，and those who refused were put into prison.At the same time the financial policy of the government led to a decline in commerce and production.Soon masses of the people as well as the bourgeoisie found the feudal oppression intolerable.

Surprisingly，the trouble did not come at first from the English but the King’s own Scottish countrymen，for Charles wanted to reform their Presbyterian Church by introducing a new Church service in Scotland.This caused great anger among the Scots and they revolted.The king was ill-prepared for any large scale war.To raise money for the sudden war，he summoned a parliament in April 1640.This parliament，instead of voting money for the war，made use of the money problem to start a fierce criticism of the king’s policy.Charles，full of anger，dissolved the parliament that had been in existence for only three weeks.This Parliament has thus become known in English history as the Short Parliament.

In 1640，Charles’army was defeated by the Scots，and he was forced to agree to humiliating peace terms，under which the Scottish army was to remain in occupation of the six northern counties of England at Charles’expense，until all their demands had been complied with.The situation forced Charles to call Parliament once more.This Parliament lasted until 1653，which has become known in English history the Long Parliament.Under the leadership of John Pym⁵，agentleman from Somerset，the Parliament began to carry through a far-reaching political revolution.It ordered the immediate release of the prisoners and arrested the king’s favorites，Straffod⁶ and Laud⁷，who were impeached in Parliament for high treason.Acts were passed restricting the king’s right to dissolve parliament or to govern for more than three years without parliament.The royal court of the Star Chamber was closed，for it had been used unfairly against the king’s personal enemies.All taxes were declared unlawful unless they received parliament’s approval，for Charles had been acting against the rules of Magna Carta.The more extreme Puritans now wished to transform the Church of England into a Presbyterian Church.The Commons seized the opportunity to attack the archbishop and the Catholic ministers.They also demanded control of the armed forces，which law and custom had always placed under the king.This was a difficult point，and the lords needed time to discuss it.But Charles was in a hurry，and began to take violent action.He went to the House of Commons with several soldiers to arrest Pym and other leaders，but they had already escaped to the city of London，where they were safe.All London was now arming itself to defend Parliament against the King.Charles escaped to the north，hoping to find supporters in the more backward districts，thus the Civil War began.