King James I

King James (whose name is still attached to an English translation of the Bible) lived in turbulent times. Both his mother (Mary, Queen of Scots) and his son (Charles I) were beheaded. His father was murdered when James was a baby.

Made king of Scotland, when he was an infant, he was the target of the "Gunpowder Plot" when he was king of Britain. He wrote of witches and demons. He had favorites upon whom he lavished gifts and wealth.

A precocious child, he could translate Bible chapters from Latin to French - and then to English - when he was only eight. When he was thirty-eight, he convened the Hampton Court Conference. Its charge was to authorize an English translation of the Protestant Bible.

In this story, meet Guy Fawkes (whose attempt to blow-up the Houses of Parliament is recalled every year on Guy Fawkes Day) and his intended target (the king and his family). Read newspapers of the day, which publicized the attempted assassination, and examine Fawkes’ confession.

Meet Charles I (who lost his head at age 48) and Oliver Cromwell (who led forces against the king until he was himself defeated). Step back to the early seventeenth century when England, Scotland and Wales were first referred to as Great Britain.