Unmasquing the Connections between Jacobean Politics and Policy: the Circle of Anna of Denmark and the Beginning of the English Empire, 1614–18

Abstract

On January 6, 1617, the popular team of Inigo Jones and Ben Jonson presented their masque, A Vision of Desire, at court.1 While of academic interest to students of Jacobean theater and the settlement of Virginia— since the audience included the Powhatan “princess,” Pocahontas, and her planter-husband, John Rolfe—this occasion actually had the greatest ramifications for English history, especially the history of empire, and, correspondingly, sheds light on the nature of the political world of Jacobean England. In the first instance, the masque provided the backdrop for the elevation of George Villiers to earl of Buckingham, an important step in the development in the continuing emergence of this new court favorite. It also constituted part of the itinerary of the “Indian princess” and her consort on their successful tour to drum up support for the flagging Virginia Company. But, secondly, the timing of Buckingham’s creation and the appearance of the Virginians may not have been coincidental since both the establishment of the new favorite and the resurgence of the Jamestown colony were policies favored by Anna of Denmark, queen of “Great Britain,” and members of her political and literary circle, a group then ascending to power.