The Sun Rising: King James I and the Dawn of a Global Britain, 1603-1625
The ascension of Scottish King James VI to the English throne as King James I in 1603 ushered in a new, global empire known as Great Britain whose rise reverberates down to today, as Anna Whitelock’s fascinating The Sun Rising reveals.
“The first decades of the seventeenth century were seminal in the making of modern Britain,” Whitelock begins, and much of this was due to James I. Covering the twenty years of King James I’s rule, the book is not a full biography or comprehensive account of his reign, but analyzes his policies and politics in a “global context.” James’s approach to royal rule after the death of the beloved (and feared) Queen Elizabeth I sought to achieve peace and prosperity for his struggling kingdom through “trade, diplomacy, realpolitik, and the reunion of Christendom.” In this latter area, Whitelock reveals a surprising desire of the devout and Protestant James to bind together the bickering offshoots of Christianity (Roman Catholic, Calvinist, Lutheran, Orthodox), which he looked to effect through colonization efforts (whether in Ireland or North America).
The Sun Rising is an engaging and accessible history explaining the impact of King James I upon England’s transformation to a global empire.
