斯图亚特时期

Political history

James VI and I: 1603–1625

Rule of the upper-classes

England was ruled at the national level by royalty and nobility, and at the local level by the lesser nobility and the gentry. Together they comprised about 2% of the families, owned most of the good farmland, and controlled local government affairs. The aristocracy was growing steadily in numbers, wealth, and power. From 1540 to 1640, the number of peers (dukes, earls, marquises, viscounts, and barons) grew from 60 families to 160. They inherited their titles through primogeniture, had a favoured position in legal matters, enjoyed the highest positions in society, and held seats in the House of Lords. In 1611, the king looking for new revenue sources created the hereditary rank of baronet, with a status below that of the nobility, and no seat in Lords, and a price tag of about £1100. The vast land holdings seized from the monasteries under Henry VIII in the 1530s were sold mostly to local gentry, greatly expanding the wealth of that class of gentlemen. The gentry tripled to 15,000 from 5000 in the century after 1540. Many families died out, and others moved up, so that 6 out of 7

of the peers in 1714 had been created by Stuart kings since 1603.

Three kingdoms

James VI, king of Scotland, also became king of the entirely separate kingdom of England when Elizabeth I died.……

Social and economic history

Population

The total population of England grew steadily in the 17th century, from 1600 to about 1660, then declined slightly and stagnated between 1649 and 1714. The population was about 4.2 million in 1603, 5.2 million in 1649, 5.1 million in 1660, 4.9 million in 1688, and 5.3 million in 1714. By 1714 the Greater London area held about 674,000 people, or one in nine of England's population. The next cities in size were Norwich and Bristol (with a population of about 30,000 each). About 90% of the people lived in rural areas in 1500, compared to 80% of a much larger population in 1750.

Witchcraft and magic

Historians have recently placed stress on how people at the time dealt with the supernatural, not just in formal religious practice and theology, but in everyday life through magic and witchcraft. The persecution of witches began in England in 1563, and hundreds were executed. England was spared the frenzy on Continental Europe; with over 5% of Europe's population in 1600, England executed only 1% of the 40,000 witches killed in the period 1400–1800.

The government made witchcraft a capital crime under Queen Elizabeth I in 1563.……

Foreign policy

Stuart England was primarily consumed with internal affairs. King James I (reigned 1603–25) was sincerely devoted to peace, not just for his three kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, but for Europe as a whole. He disliked Puritans and Jesuits alike, because of their eagerness for warfare. He called himself "Rex Pacificus" ("King of peace.") At the time, Europe was deeply polarised, and on the verge of the massive Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), with the smaller established Protestant states facing the aggression of the larger Catholic empires. On assuming the throne, James made peace with Catholic Spain, and made it his policy to marry his son to the Spanish Infanta (princess) Maria Anna in the "Spanish Match". The marriage of James' daughter Princess Elizabeth to Elector Frederick V of the Palatinate on 14 February 1613 was more than the social event of the era; the couple's union had important political and military implications. Across Europe, the German princes were banding together in the Protestant Union, headquartered in Heidelberg, the capital of the Electoral Palatinate.……

Timeline

The Stuart period began in 1603 with the death of Queen Elizabeth I and the accession of King James I. There was a break in the middle but the Stuarts were restored to the throne in 1660. It ended in 1714 (after 111 years) with the death of Queen Anne and the accession of King George I, the first king of the House of Hanover. The yellow bars show Stuart rule.

Monarchs

The House of Stuart produced six monarchs who ruled during this period.