When Elizabeth I died childless in 1603, the throne passed to her cousin James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England. This Union of the Crowns brought England and Scotland under the same monarch for the first time, although they remained separate kingdoms with separate parliaments for another century.
Further reading: an editorial guide on this topic opens in a new window for additional context.
James survived the Gunpowder Plot of November 1605, when a group of Catholic conspirators led by Robert Catesby and Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament. Their failure is still commemorated on Bonfire Night (5 November). James also commissioned a new English translation of the Bible — the King James Version of 1611 — which has shaped the English language ever since.
You may be asked who replaced Elizabeth I (James I), what Guy Fawkes tried to do, or which Bible was published in 1611.
Test yourself on this topic
These questions from the official-format question bank cover the same material. Tap any question to see the correct answer and a short explanation.
Keep going
- Read the full study notes for British History.
- Try a practice test on this chapter.
- Sit a full 24-question timed mock.
- Browse the complete library of topic explainers.
Related topic explainers
The Troubles and the Good Friday Agreement
Three decades of conflict in Northern Ireland and the 1998 peace agreement that largely ended them.
Sir Isaac Newton
The seventeenth-century mathematician who laid the foundations of modern physics.
The English Civil War (1642–1651)
King against Parliament, Cavaliers against Roundheads, and the trial and execution of Charles I.
The Irish Easter Rising of 1916
A short, doomed Dublin rebellion that helped change the course of Irish history.