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Traditionally, Scotland had been trenchantly anti-English and to counter its larger neighbor it had formed a long-lasting alliance with France. Typically, when France and England were at war, the Scots would invade Northern England. This was the pattern of events until the Knox inspired Scottish Reformation. Knox and the Protestant nobles came to believe that England which was a Protestant kingdom was not its enemy. Rather the real enemy was Catholic France, which was the champion of the corrupt Papacy and a corrupt clergy. The Scottish Reformation changed how many Scots perceived their relationship with England. Knox and those who were sympathetic to the Reformation came to see England as an ally and France as an enemy.
The outcome of this was that under James VI of Scotland that there was a rapprochement between Edinburgh and London. The two realms as Protestant kingdoms believed that they had a common foe in Catholic Spain and France.<ref>Devine,p. 245</ref> There was were to be no further wars between Scotland and England during the reign of James VI. When Elizabeth I died, her powerful minister Cecil was able to engineer the accession of James VI of Scotland as James I of England in 1603. This led to the unification of the crowns of England and Scotland and this was to ultimately lay the foundation for the establishment of the United Kingdom in 1707. The dramatic change in the relationship between Scotland and England was in no small measure a result of John Knox, who was a key figure in the success of the Scottish Reformation.
====Conclusion====
John Knox was a giant of Scottish history and indeed in the history of Reformation. He was a key reason for the success of the Scottish Reformation and in the development of the Church of Scotland. He was also significant in that he ensured that the Church was influenced by Calvinism in its governance and theology. Knox’s encounter with Calvin was ultimately the origin of the Presbyterian Church, which is a worldwide movement. Without Knox and his defiance of Mary Queen of Scots, the kingdom could have reverted to Catholicism. His singular bravery ensured that ultimately Scotland was to remain a Protestant state. This , in turn , was to draw Edinburgh away from its old alliance with France. Over time this led to a growing alliance between Scotland and England and ultimately the union of the two realms in the person of James I, a union which has persisted to the present-day.
====References====
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[[Category: Religious Hisotry]] [[Category:Wikis]] [[Category:British History]] [[Category:Reformation]]
