James's Triumphal Arches

These images present two of the Roman triumphal arches constructed at various points in the City of London for James's procession en route to his coronation. Such structures helped shape the image of James as a new Augustus entering into a new Rome (London) and a new empire (the New World).

The Gunpowder Plot Conspirators

James's popularity soared with the upsurge of patriotism and Protestant religious fervor that followed upon the discovery in 1605 of a plot by some fanatic Roman Catholics to blow up the Parliament building with James in attendance. This happy escape was readily associated with the miraculous escape under Queen Elizabeth in 1588, when the Spanish Armada perished in storms en route to attack England.