Throughout James’ reign, religion, especially Puritanism was kept respectably under control, however incurring minor ‘hiccups’ along the way. James was indifferent to religious prejudice and aimed to please both Catholics and protestants; introducing the Jacobean compromise. Before 1611 when Abbot succeeded Bancroft (previous archbishop), there were many glitches concerning the puritans including the Millenary Petition, Hampton Court Conference and Bancroft’s Cannons which caused mild uproar among puritans, however was short-lived. His main succession begun when pro-puritan Abbot became Archbishop in 1611. It wasn’t until 1618 when things took a turn for the worst.
In 1611, George Abbot became the archbishop of Canterbury. This caused
The puritans were not appeased; it would surely reinforce the previous ‘chapter’ of Bancroft’s anti-puritan concepts. In 1620 some extreme puritans even decided to emigrate to America on the Mayflower, rather than remain and watch their religious world fall down around them. In this sense the Spanish match worked as a huge disadvantage for James, as it damaged a very stable relationship with puritans, among other factors.
Ironically, it can be argued that eventually the Spanish Match worked as an advantage in terms of dealing with this broken bond with puritans. In 1623, Charles and Buckingham were finally returned to England from Spain. This in itself felt like a minor victory for the puritans as they had obtained their rightful heir, regardless of the Catholics attempts.
Finally realisation had occurred to James that the Spanish Match was not, and never was going to be achieved. Due to the outrageous humiliation and disillusion caused by Spain, James was now overwhelmed with revenge, ironically making war an inevitable factor. This pleased the Protestants even further as their country were finally gaining aspect of power and control, calling war with the Catholics. Therefore making war a desirable factor and emphasising a sense of closure to the mild conflict between James and the puritans.
In conclusion, I believe James was successful in maintaining stability and dealing