United by James VI and I??

Hey guys, it's crazy to think that this is almost the end of the blog! I hope you've enjoyed the process and have learned something along the way. For the last official week, I thought it'd be interesting to tell you guys some more history. 

Up until the mid 16th century, Scotland and England were two warring nations, ruled by separate monarchs. 



The English monarch of the time was Elizabeth I (left) , son of Henry VIII. Elizabeth started her rule by creating the Protestant Church of England which belittled Mary's authority, as she was Catholic. 

The Scottish monarch of the time was Mary Queen of Scots (right). Being born in France, Mary was brought up Catholic. Although being Catholic was a crime in Protestant English, Mary was allowed to practice her religion in private. 

In 1567, Mary's Protestant husband was murdered by a group of Scottish rebels. With rising talk of Mary being involved, Mary's defiance of the country's religion and a vague claim to the throne (Mary was Henry VIII's niece making her Elizabeth's cousin), Elizabeth felt the need to subdue the threat, and imprisoned Mary until she was executed 19 years later. 

It is said that it took the executioner three attempts to complete the beheading, but let's end this story on a brighter note.

Realizing she was going to die just a few years after Mary and having no heir, Elizabeth had to choose who would take up the throne. After much consideration, Elizabeth decided to appoint a leader who was already a monarch and who had some claim to the throne, James VI, son of Mary Queen of Scots. 

Although the two countries were ruled separately, this eventually led to the union of Scotland and England a century later uniting the two flags into one. 

In becoming the first James in his line to rule England, James became the I but remained the VI. This is why he is often referred to as James VI and I.

I hope you guys found this post to be interesting. Next week, I'll be posting a video to answer any last questions you guys have so start thinking about those and try to get them in before the week's end.

Have a great week!