Stewart Succession (Fidei Defensor)

The Stewart Succession was the process of events which marked the Union of the English and Scottish Crowns under the Stewart Dynasty in 1509. The route cause of these events was the deaths of Prince Arthur and Henry of Tudor from tuberculosis, leaving their sister Margaret as the next heir to the throne. Although many in the English nobility opposed the marriage, it was required in the terms of the Treaty of Perpetual Peace (1502), signed just prior to Arthur's own death.

The immediate cause however was far simpler. On the death of King Henry VII, the last of the Tudors, James IV King of Scotland was informed and finally given the go-ahead to come down to London for his coronation. On that late-May day, he establish what was known as the Union of the Crowns. Technically though, the two crowns remained distinct and separate and the Stewarts were now the monarchs of two distinct kingdoms. Though James worked very hard to achieve an official and lawful union, it was his son and successor who finally achieved that goal.

Causes
On the 2nd of April 1502, Arthur, Prince of Wales and heir to the English throne died of tuberculosis and left his younger brother Henry the right of succession. However, Henry had actually contracted tuberculosis from his sickly brother and himself died September 2, 1503. Per the terms of the England-Scotland Treaty of Perpetual Peace of 1502, Margaret Tudor and James IV of Scotland were married August 8, 1503 just as it seemed inevitable that Henry would die. During December of that same year, James was called down to London by Henry VII so that he could discuss the impending succession.

James arrived in time for Christmas celebrations in the English capital and was received lavishly by his soon-to-be subjects. Here, Edmund Dudley, the elected Speaker of the English House of Commons, explained Henry's decisions. First, he reasoned that if the two crowns were to be united, for however brief a period of time, it would not be safe for a woman to have the throne and so James had to receive the crown himself, rather than Margaret. Furthermore, the King promised to not undermine James' position by trying to create more male heirs. Henry of course lied and tried half-heartedly to make another heir but his failure ensured that James was none the wiser of this betrayal.

Before James returned to Scotland, Dudley sent with him some nobles and messengers through which the two were to correspond with over the topic of the succession. The nobles sent back with him to Scotland helped prepare the future King of England, whilst Dudley continued to offer his council over his letters. On March 24, 1509, King Henry VII died of tuberculosis at Richmond Palace and later that same day, James was proclaimed King of England in London.

Edmund Dudley, who was starting to grow out of favor in the Royal Court, sent a letter almost immediately to James, informing him that he was now King of England and was to return immediately to London for his coronation. In the early days of April, James gave his final speech at the Scottish Houses of Parliament, promising to return every three years. Circumstance however brought him back here far more often than that. In any case, April 5, 1509, James began his journey to London and a new age in the history of the Isles began.

James IV of Scotland
Even before the above events had transpired, James had already had a very eventful, and most would say successful life in the courts of Scotland. Born in Stirling Castle from King James III of Scotland and his wife, Margaret of Denmark, James was immediately heir apparent to the throne and therefore also the Duke of Rothesay. However, his father was a very unpopular king and so when a second rebellion against his rule erupted, a 15 year-old James agreed to lead the rebel cause and in the Battle of Sauchieburn on 11 June 1488 James III was killed. Though the young boy was crowned King James IV of Scotland on June 24, he was horrified at the sin he had committed. From that date onwards, James wore a heavy iron chain cilice around his waist, next to the skin, and each Lent added extra ounces as penance.

James immediately demonstrated that he was an extremely competent ruler. In 1489 he defeated another rebellion and in 1493 he forced the Lord of the Isles to forfeit his entire estate and titles to the Scottish Crown. Although he did, briefly support Perkin Warbeck, a pretender to the English Throne, and stage an invasion of England, he recognized that peace between the two countries was in both of their best interests. James quickly established good diplomatic relations with England and in 1502, negotiated the Treaty of Perpetual Peace. As per the agreement of the treaty, he married Margaret Tudor in August 1503.

After returning from England in December, having begun his preparations to succeed to the English Throne, James started several reforms to improve the status of Scotland. After founding two new dockyards to serve the Scottish Royal Navy, James commissioned for 36 ships to be built. These included the Margaret and the Michael, on which construction was begun in early 1509. These were the two largest ships in the entire Scottish Navy at the time. In 1506 he granted a royal charter to the Edinburgh College of Surgeons and welcomed the first Scottish printing press just a year later. As well, Edinburgh Castle was made into one of the foremost gun foundries in all the Isles.

James was also a notable patron of the arts, and especially liked to fund the Makars which were so popular in Scotland at the time. Through his patronage, many famous literary figures completed some of their finest works, including the complete translation of the Aeneid by Gavin Douglas and William Dunbar, known as much for his works honoring Queen Margaret as he is for the first printed instances of obscenities in English literature. When James finally inherited the English Throne, his patronage of the arts and sciences became even more remarkable.