The Royal Schoolmaster / El Maestro Real

 What was the man Guy Fawkes tried to eliminate like?

¿Cómo era el hombre al que Guy Fawkes quería eliminar?

James I of England and IV of Scotland described himself as "the great schoolmaster of the whole land." He was forever giving his important opinion and preaching at everybody.

Jacobo I de Inglaterra y IV de Escocia se describía a si mismo como el "gran maestro de todo el país." Se pasaba la vida dando su importante opinión y sermoneando a todo el mundo.

In no time he was nicknamed "the wisest fool in Christendom." It was no big wonder that he was the way he was. His teachers had brainwashed him insisting that God had chosen him expressly to teach his subjects what to be like and how to behave. They used him to spread their own ideas.

No tardó en ganarse el mote de " el tonto más listo de la Cristiandad." No era del todo de extrañar que fuese como era. Le habían lavado el cerebro sus educadores insistiendo en que Dios le había elegido expresamente para que enseñase a todos sus súbditos como debían ser y que debían hacer. Le utilizaron para propagar sus propias ideas.



They had already tried to manipulate his mother, Mary Stuart, but though young, she was quite grown up when she got to reign in Scotland and already thought like a French Catholic. They got rid of her as soon as they could. Someday we may learn more about Mary, the favorite queen of the romantics.

Ya habían intentado manipular a su madre, María Estuarda, pero ella ya era mayorcita cuando llegó a reinar en Escocia y ya pensaba como una católica francesa. La quitaron de en medio en cuanto pudieron. Algún día aprenderemos más sobre María, la reina favorita de los románticos.


James did at least one good thing. He had the Bible translated to an English accesible to his subjects so they could understand it easily. And the result of this was that lots of people learned to read to be able to learn from it firsthand. By the way, the King James Bible, which is from 1611, will be four hundred years old this year.

Jacobo hizo al menos una cosa buena. Mandó traducir la biblia al inglés de forma que sus súbditos pudiesen entenderla fácilmente. Y estó resultó en que para poder leer este libro mucha gente se albabetizó. Por cierto, la Biblia del Rey Jacobo es de 1611 y cumple 400 años este año 2011.

James not only had problems with the Catholics. Many Protestants were fed up with him. The Puritans, for example, considered him a bon vivant and a despot who boasted too much of his power. Many fled to Holland and eventually about a hundred of these went to America where they hoped to escape control and be able to do things their way. Before long, they were having differences among themselves there.

Jacobo no sólo tenía problemas con los católicos. Muchos protestantes estaban hasta el gorro de él. Los Puritanos, por ejemplo, le consideraban un vividor y un déspota que abusaba de su poder. Algunos huyeron a Holanda y eventualmente unos cien navegaron hasta America, donde esperaban poder escapar al control del rey y hacer las cosas a su propia manera. No tardaron en tener diferencias entre ellos una vez allí.

In brief, coexistence is not easy. That is why tolerance is so important. And I´m going to shut up about this now because I am beginning to feel like James.

En resumen, que convivir no es fácil. De ahí la importancia de la tolerancia.

Y ya no digo más sobre todo esto porque empiezo a sentirme como Jacobo.

Mini Quiz / Mini Quiz
True or false / Verdad o Mentira

1. James I of England was the same person as James IV of Scotland. / Jacobo I de Inglaterra era la misma persona que Jacobo IV de Escocia.  
2. James thought of himself as the schoolmaster of his people. / Jacobo se consideraba el maestro de su pueblo.
3. Some people thought James was a fool. / Algunos pensaban que Jacobo era tonto.
4. James´ mother  was Mary Stuart, who was a French Protestant. / La madre de Jacobo, María Estuarda, era una protestante francesa.
5. The Catholics hated James but the Protestants adored him. / Los católicos odiaban a Jacobo pero los protestantes le adoraban.
6. The King James Bible, published in 1611 thanks to James I,  helped curb analphabetism. / La Biblia del Rey Jacobo ayudó a combatir el analfabetismo.
7. The Puritans went to America because they were victims of intolerance in England. / Los puritanos se fueron a America porque eran victimas de la intolerancia en Inglaterra.