The debts of James VI of Scotland

James VI (1567–1625) was chronically indebted, and this caused him frequent problems. This article presents two series of systematic data that together indicate the main contours of his indebtedness: (1) end-of-year deficits, and (2) hived-off debts which the Crown left unpaid for long periods (some...

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Published inThe Economic history review Vol. 62; no. 4; pp. 926 - 952
Main Author GOODARE, JULIAN
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.2009
Blackwell Publishing
Subjects
Bank accounts
Bankruptcy
Budget deficits
Creditors
Debt
Debt repayment
Economic history
Financial liabilities
Financial systems
Fiscal policy
Heads of state
James VI [King]
James VI, King of Scotland (1567-1625)
Kings
Personal debt
Personal finance
Policy making
Privy councils
Scotland
Studies
United Kingdom
United Kingdom > UK
Scotland
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Summary:James VI (1567–1625) was chronically indebted, and this caused him frequent problems. This article presents two series of systematic data that together indicate the main contours of his indebtedness: (1) end-of-year deficits, and (2) hived-off debts which the Crown left unpaid for long periods (sometimes permanently). The hived-off debts, reconstructed individually, constitute a narrative of fiscal policy-making. Instead of a large and catastrophic bankruptcy, James in effect had numerous small bankruptcies. He benefited from an emerging structure of Scottish domestic credit. He eventually repaid many of his debts after succeeding to the English throne in 1603.
Bibliography:ark:/67375/WNG-7878CVMS-8
I am grateful to Dr Athol Murray for commenting on a draft of this article.
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ArticleID:EHR464
ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 23
ISSN:0013-0117
1468-0289
DOI:10.1111/j.1468-0289.2009.00464.x