History of the Puritans under King James I Scots since the abdication of his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1567 (when James was 1 year old). James had little contact with his mother and was raised by guardians in the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. John Knox had led the Scottish Reformation, beginning in 1560, and the Church of Scotland looked broadly like the type of church that the Puritans wanted in England. In his 1599 book "Basilikon Doron", the king had had harsh words for Puritans, but his criticisms seemed directed at the most extreme of the Puritans and it seemed likely that the king would agree
History of the Puritans under King James I For this reason, the Puritan movement continued to grow and expand throughout England in remarkable ways under the reign of King James. To be sure the Puritan movement in England was considerably strengthened on account of the succession of the three Archbishops of Canterbury who served under King James. Archbishop John Whitgift (1583-1604), appointed by Queen Elizabeth sought to suppress the Puritan movement. Archbishop Richard Bancroft (1604-1610) chief overseer of the production of the King James Bible also sought to suppress the Puritan reform movement, but was forced to increasingly rely upon them because of the Catholic threat. Archbishop George