Social and Historical Context:
Shakespeare wrote Macbeth after the Scottish King James VI succeeded Elizabeth I, and he became James I. Elizabeths long reign had ended, due to the fact had she had no heir.
People were worried when James came to the throne, and this is why Shakespeare wrote a play about the importance of unity immediately afterwards.
At the time, the murder of a king was a well-discussed issue. In 1605, the Gunpowder Plot was laid bare. This is more commonly known to us as Guy Fawkes Night aka fireworks night. At the time, this was taken very seriously.
When Henry VIII abandoned the Roman Catholic Church and ruled over the Anglican Church in 1534, it was not a good time to be a Catholic. For example, a law had been passed saying that if you talked to a Catholic, it was seen as committing treason. Catholic priests were expelled from England by James in 1604.
However, in 1605, a group of Catholics got together and decided to fight back. They filled the basement with gunpowder, and were going to set it off on 5th November. Just in case you dont know, if you set off fireworks indoors, you are likely to die. It is quite hard to arrange this without anyone noticing. They were caught the night before they were planning on blowing up the building.
They were fairly stupid, as they were sending letters to each other speaking of the conspiracy, and telling them to stay away when it goes off. They accidentally sent one to James security force. James then ordered a search of the basement, and the gunpowder kegs were found and destroyed. The people of the nation were irate.
Another thing that influenced the birth of Macbeth was James views of natural order. James had written a book called Basilicon Doron telling people how society was arranged in order of material wealth. If something abnormal happens, e.g. the murder of a King (as in Macbeth) it was believed that the whole of society would be confused.
