text: Lord Buckingham, who wielded increasing influence at court, wanted an alliance with Spain. Buckingham took Charles with him to Spain to woo the princess, the Infanta Maria Anna. However, Spain's terms were that James must drop Britain's anti-Catholic intolerance. Buckingham and Charles were humiliated. Buckingham subsequently became the leader of the widespread British demand for a war against Spain. Meanwhile, the Protestant princes looked to Britain, since it was the strongest of all the Protestant countries, to give military support for their cause. His son-in-law and daughter became king and queen of Bohemia, which outraged Vienna.  The Thirty Years' War began as the Habsburg Emperor ousted the new king and queen of Bohemia and massacred their followers.  Catholic Bavaria then invaded the Palatine, and James's son-in-law begged for James's military intervention.  James finally realized his policies had backfired and refused these pleas.  He successfully kept Britain out of the Europe-wide war that proved so devastating for three decades.  James's backup plan was to marry his son Charles to a French Catholic princess, who would bring a handsome dowry.  Parliament and the British people were strongly opposed to any Catholic marriage, were demanding immediate war with Spain, and strongly favored with the Protestant cause in Europe.  James had alienated both elite and popular opinion in Britain, and Parliament was cutting its financing.  Historians credit James for pulling back from a major war at the last minute, and keeping Britain in peace.
  Frederick and Elizabeth's election as King and Queen of Bohemia in 1619, and the conflict that resulted, marked the beginning of the disastrous Thirty Years' War. King James' determination to avoid involvement in the continental conflict, even during the "war fever" of 1623, appears in retrospect as one of the most significant, and most positive, aspects of his reign.
  High culture