Editing Gunpowder Plot (section)

===Early reign of James I===
James's attitude towards Catholics was more moderate than that of his predecessor, perhaps even tolerant. He swore that he would not "persecute any that will be quiet and give an outward obedience to the law",<ref>{{Harvnb|Brice|1994|p=88}}</ref> and believed that exile was a better solution than [[capital punishment]]: "I would be glad to have both their heads and their bodies separated from this whole island and transported beyond seas."<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|2005|p=46}}</ref> Some Catholics believed that the martyrdom of James's mother, [[Mary, Queen of Scots]], would encourage James to convert to the Catholic faith, and the Catholic houses of Europe may also have shared that hope.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|2005|pp=xxx–xxxi}}</ref>

James received an envoy from [[Albert VII, Archduke of Austria|Albert VII]],<ref name=" Fraserp91"/> ruler of the remaining Catholic territories in the Netherlands after over 30 years of war in the [[Dutch Revolt]] by English-supported Protestant rebels. For the Catholic expatriates engaged in that struggle, the restoration by force of a Catholic monarchy was an intriguing possibility, but following the failed [[Spanish invasion of England]] in 1588 the papacy had taken a longer-term view on the return of a Catholic monarch to the English throne.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fraser|2005|p=7}}</ref>

During James I's reign the [[European wars of religion]] were intensifying. Protestants and Catholics were engaged in violent persecution of each other across Europe following the [[Protestant Reformation]]. Catholics made several assassination attempts on Protestant rulers in Europe and in England, including plans to poison James I's predecessor, Elizabeth I. In 1589, during the [[French Wars of Religion]], the French King [[Henry III of France|Henry III]] was mortally wounded with a dagger by [[Jacques Clément]], a fanatic member of the [[Catholic League of France]]. Nine years later, the Jesuit [[Juan de Mariana]]'s 1599<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Merle |first=Alexandra |date=July 2014 |title=El De rege de Juan de Mariana (1599) y la cuestión del tiranicidio: ¿un discurso de ruptura? |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277896294_El_De_rege_de_Juan_de_Mariana_1599_y_la_cuestion_del_tiranicidio_un_discurso_de_ruptura |journal=Criticón |volume=120 |pages=89–102 |via=ResearchGate.net}}</ref> ''On Kings and the Education of Kings'' (''De rege et regis institutione'') argued in support of [[tyrannicide]]. This work recounted the assassination of Henry III and argued for the legal right to overthrow a tyrant. Perhaps due in part to the publication of ''De rege'', until the 1620s, some English Catholics believed that [[regicide]] was justifiable to remove 'tyrants' from power.<ref name=MarshallP227>{{Harvnb|Marshall|2006|p=227}}</ref> Much of the "rather nervous"<ref>{{Harvnb|Northcote Parkinson|1976|pp=32–33}}</ref> political writing from James I was "concerned with the threat of Catholic assassination and refutation of the [Catholic] argument that 'faith did not need to be kept with [[heretics]]'".<ref name=MarshallP228>{{Harvnb|Marshall|2006|p=228}}</ref>