James VI, James I and the Identity of Britain

Abstract

'In a provocative article a few years ago Jenny Wormald suggested that King James VI & I knew all too well that his plans for a British union would falter through the unwillingness of the English and Scots to accept the destruction of their two separate nations. James, argued Wormald, sought an unachievable goal so as to achieve a lesser, more realistic one which was simply a peaceable co-operation between the two kingdoms and a smooth succession.' (Marshall 2000, §1)