During the Wars of Religion, from 1554 to 1648, the actions of Elizabeth I, Henry IV, Louis XIII, and Philip II all demonstrated their worthiness to be considered great rulers. Elizabeth I of England defeated the Spanish Armada, the strongest naval power the world had ever seen. Henry IV of France took many steps that eventually led to a religious agreement in France. Louis XIII of France left France as a major European power. Philip II of Spain made Spain very rich and powerful during the height of his reign.
Elizabeth Tudor I of England accomplished many things during her reign, proving her a great ruler. Elizabeth ruled as a woman in a male-dominant society. She was the first woman to rule England without a king for her entire reign. Adding to her challenges was the fact that she was a Protestant Queen in a Catholic country. One of Elizabeth’s main accomplishments was the Act of Uniformity that was passed in 1559. This required everyone in England to be a Protestant on the surface and to attend Anglican Church on Sunday. Catholics were still allowed to practice their own religion, but had to do so underground, so that England would appear to be religiously unified. Another achievement that made Elizabeth I a great ruler were the 39 Articles that were passed in 1563. This was a Protestant doctrine, but preserved many Catholic ceremonies, which led to a very moderate form of Protestantism. However, the accomplishment of the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, is probably the most important factor in making Elizabeth I a great ruler. The small English ships were much better suited when a storm came along, and the Spanish Navy easily fell to the English. The most powerful navy was destroyed, and it left England w...
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...hey had been the most advanced and the strongest beforehand. He regarded himself as the champion of the Catholic faith and he strongly supported the Inquisition. One of Philip IIs most important achievements was the Escorial, finished in 1584. The Escorial was built in honor of St. Lawrence, since he had won a battle against the French on his feast day. Although there were a few downfalls of Philip II’s reign, his various accomplishments make him a great ruler.
The accomplishments of Elizabeth I, Henry IV, Louis XIII and Philip II all demonstrated their merit to being considered great rulers. They did this through rising to the challenges that were presented to them and leaving their kingdoms better off than before. Although they ruled during the period of the Wars of Religion, their achievements made them stand out and earn the title of being a great ruler.
Elizabeth I was the queen of England from 1558 to 1603. Elizabeth I had many qualities of an absolute ruler and these qualities helped her to make a stronger England. Among the areas that Elizabeth I had absolute power were, her total control of politics in her country, her complete ability to use the military to keep and increase her power, and her complete influence over the social and cultural situation of England.
Naming yourself a great leader isn't the same as establishing the respect of a great leader from the people you rule, for example, Queen Nzinga was able to rule sufficiently and protect her kingdom from, slavery, constant wars, famine, and bankruptcy, whereas Louis XIV, although creating a new society failed at providing such fortifications. In 1663, when Louis XIII had passed away, five year old Louis XIV had to take up the throne, and although he made immature and unreasonable decisions, he later made his mind up to make a more centralized state. For this reason there were constant wars with foreign countries and domestic civil strife. Louis XIV’s most acknowledged decision was the employing of John Baptiste Colbert as Minister of Finance, under whom the French economy flourished, hence creating a centralized and fortified state for the first half of his reign. However, later in his reign, due to extravagant wars, and continuous financial problems, Louis XIV’s new society collapsed. Similarly, Queen Nzinga took over the throne after the death of her brother in 1623, fought many battles and wars, however, was able to keep up a strong centralized and government, and was able to protect her people from the Portuguese for as long as she lived.
The role of the king to the public during the reigns of Louis XIV of France and Philip II of Spain were not predetermined, so each king created for himself what he thought monarchy ought to be. Louis XIV and Philip II were both absolutists, and believed that they should be the supreme rulers of France and Spain, respectively. However, Louis XIV did not want to be a national symbol serving no legitimate purpose. He wished to control the military, economy, foreign affairs, and the administration of the kingdom and of justice. He believed that the king of France should be the best that France has to offer- being served by even the most powerful lords of France. Conversely, Philip II thought of himself as Catholic first, and king of Spain second. Opposite to Louis XIV, Philip II preferred to sit in the Escorial and pray, pour over records, and live more as a monk than as Louis XIV’s conception of a king. Philip II never wanted to take much of an active part in the administration of his kingdom, except for the times when he wanted to use some of his various powers. However, after he had used it for a while (waging war, raising taxes, etceteras) he would let it lay dormant and return to his documents. Nor did Philip II ever wish to control most of the Spanish economy. The parts that he did control were ones that directly affected himself or his revenues, so vital in order to keep his army of immense proportions.
Queen Elizabeth I was crowned queen of England when she as only 25 years old (Queen Elizabeth I - Biography). She became the third queen to rule England in her own right. The first was older cousin Lady Jane Grey who was voted out after nine days in office. Second, was older sister Queen Mary I who exacted anyone who disagreed with her beliefs involving religion. Both of them were disasters to the country (Queen Elizabeth - Facts). England was struggling with money, war, and religious strife but Queen Elizabeth I was ready to take that burden and return England back to its former
the monarchy of his efforts and achievements and it was he who took all of the
In politics, the interest of nations was centered on religion. Monarchs aligned themselves based on religious belief and fought wars against those who worshiped differently. In Spain, King Phillip II waged war against the Islamic Ottoman Empire in an attempt to stop the spread of Islam in Western Europe and further spread Catholicism. Spain, the most powerful nation in Western Europe during the late 16th century also tried to interfere in French royal succession when Henry IV, a protestant, was to ascend to the throne. A fact that underscores the role of religion is that fighting between Spain and France continued even after Henry IV converted to Catholicism. Another example of relationships affected by the difference in religion is the strained relationships, which eventually lead to armed conflict, Spain had with England and the Netherland, two protestant nations. Elizabeth who ruled England, herself experienced discord with her Puritan subjects who felt that the differences between the Protestant Anglican Church and the Catholic Church were not distinct enough. This same fanaticism resulted in Elizabeth ordering the execution of Mary Queen of Scotts in order to extinguish Catholic hopes of rule, which her life and position in line to the throne gave Catholics in England. Religious tolerance was rare. During the late 16th century, the Netherlands were the only nation to have a policy of tolerance. The Dutch benefit from this tolerant policy as it attracts people of various religious backgrounds, creating fertile ground for commerce. During the scientif...
Queen Elizabeth I was said to be one of the best rulers of England. Unlike rulers before her, she was a Protestant and not a Catholic. She was not stupid though. She did go to church and did everything that Catholics did to prevent getting her head cut off under the rules of her sister Mary. Elizabeth was very young when she came to rule. She was only 17 years old when her sister Mary died and she took over.
When you hear of historical figures that “conquered” a certain time period, you think of barbarians, spartans, or other gruesome, battle-tested men. While William I, the King of England and Duke of Normandy, was also nicknamed the “Conqueror”, he achieved success reigning over his time period in very different ways than that of Genghis Khan or Alexander the Great. Regardless of his path to success, William I played a huge part in the religious evolution of England. Using his advantageous leadership position, William I was able to be prosperous for many decades. His illustrious career is historical proof that a country does not need to be overtaken by brute force alone. William the Conqueror was a very commendable leader, and he used his knowledge, leadership, and military prowess to conquer multiple countries for almost the entirety of his life.
Although she is an excellent example of a helpful absolute ruler, there are others that were even greater. For example, Frederick the Great maintained peace throughout Prussia by tolerating all religions. Frederick the Great made the small state of Prussia a forceful military power by crushing Austria and Saxony in several different wars. Frederick was a genious when it came to military strategy. He began two wars with the neighboring superpower, Austria, and won them both. These victories grew the Prussian economy. Frederick was also a strong patron of the arts. He was friends with Voltaire and he funded many famous german composers. Philip II of Spain is the last example of a beneficial absolute monarch. He rained during the Spanish Golden Age, when the Spanish Empire the the richest and one of the most powerful countries in the world. Philip used the naval might of Spain to destroy the Ottoman Empire’s influence over the Mediterranean Sea, and his colonies in the Americas produced tons of silver that made Spain extremely wealthy. For spanish catholics, Philip’s rule was the peak of the Spanish
During the medieval times, in order to be an effective and well-liked ruler, a monarch was to be just, a strong soldier, and a pious leader. According to Jean de Joinville’s Life of Saint Louis, King Louis IX was the model of an ideal medieval monarch because he exhibited the virtues previously mentioned. Louis IX was far more than just a legitimate and educated French king. He displayed sincere piety throughout his life, which prompted him to rule his kingdom with fairness and peace, as well as gave him the bravery needed in battle knowing God that would protect him.
...s was from a military stand point, which was rare for him. In 1667, Louis attacked a portion of the Netherlands that was owned by the Spanish. This resulted in the gaining of 12 towns, which encouraged Louis to attack the Dutch Netherlands, which did gain him a few wealthy port towns, before ending in disaster. Louis’ last great success was the building of the Palace of Versailles, which as described earlier was a feat never before matched by a ruler.
He had a vision of what it meant to be a great king. He followed the history of the kings after Alexander the Great. He believed he had to increase the social, political and intellectual organization of his society. This distinguished himself from any other ruler from the past three hundred years. Charlemagne wanted to recreate what the Roman Empire once was capable of, but even better. As he traveled, he made sure he created a great educational system. He built a chain of schools and provided classes for chil...
Phillip’s father, Charles V, arranged Phillip’s marriage to Queen Mary I of England. In order to get Phillip to Mary’s level Charles made Phillip the king of Naples and of Jerusalem. They were married on July 25th, 1554 at Winchester Cathedral in Winchester, Hampshire, England. With their marriage Phillip obtained all of Mary’s titles and honors, also all Acts of Parliament had to have both Mary and his name on them, coins had to show both Mary’s and his face on them. The only thing was that England didn’t have to provide military support to Phillip’s fathering any war. They never had any children and Mary died in 1558, two years after Phillip became King of Spain. After Mary’s death the throne was given to Elizabeth I. Phillip didn’t want to break his connection with England so he offered to marry Elizabeth. She didn’t respond. Phillip tried to maintain his peace with England and even defended Elizabeth against the Pope and his threat of excommunication. Eventually, England allied with the Protestant rebels of Phillip’s rule in the Netherlands and stopped trading with Spain. Also, Elizabeth threatened to rob Spanish treasure ships returning from Spain’s colonies in America. Elizabeth signed a treaty with the rebels to supply goods and troops to help their cause and this made Phillip consider going to war with England. Phill...
Queen Elizabeth was a woman wholly devoted to her country and brought it much prosperity and growth; these qualities made her the most respected leader of the entire history of England. Elizabeth nurtured and united England, and built and defeated one of the most powerful navy’s of her time. Elizabeth made England one of the most powerful countries during her reign. Queen Elizabeth I had a long, and a remarkably successful reign.
...les of being a great ruler. They ruled in completely different styles, but nevertheless, they both had an extreme passion, the ability to inspire and they were both honorable and fair.