“James, coming into his new and more sophisticated kingdom, has been regarded as a politically inept, while his attachment to notions of divine right monarchy has been derided by historians and teachers raised with the traditional view of English constitutional history.”
The quote relates to an over arching theme in the class of the British believing they are often more sophisticated than their Ireland and Scotland counterparts. While the quote may not be specifically about the book. It does raise the discussions that have been mentioned in class about the concept of many scholars shaping the British history with a bias. The quote was specifically intriguing due to Sharpe use of sophisticated kingdom when describing Britain.
The second way the quote relates to the class is the tracing of James’s belief that the monarch can to no wrong. Sharpe pushes the concept forward of the the James’s strong belief in divine rule, which ultimately causes his death.
I think your approach to this quote is interesting and I like how it brings up James’ view of the kings position.
Yes throughout the course we have consistently seen that the British often view the Scottish and the Irish as inferior. That was particularly clear with the Irish, were it was pretty obvious that the British saw them and their governing style as barbaric or backwards, but it does show up quite a bit with the Scotts as well.