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LOUIS XIII
Louis XIII was the son and successor of Henry IV of France. His father was stabbed to death in 1610 by a fanatical monk. Louis's mother, Marie de Medici, then became regent of France, or the temporary ruler until Louis came of age in 1614. Louis, at a young age, suffered from poor health. To take advantage of his position of the ruler of France, Louis III hired advisors to help him in his reign. One of the most famous of his advisors was chief minister, Cardinal Richelieu, who helped to lead Louis in the control of France. Louis did contribute to the establishment of the French Academy in which great works in religion, philosophy, and literature arose.
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LOUIS XIV
Known as the Sun King, Louis XIV ruled France from 1643 to 1715, a 72-year reign in which Louis rescued France from financial troubles as well as others making his county the most powerful in Europe. Louis was a strong believer in the divine right of kings, which was the belief that God chose which individuals deserved the right to reign. After witnessing the rebellion of the Fronde during the rule of Richelieu, Louis then became determined not to allow any opposition and make his power absolute. After Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes, over 200,000 Huguenots fled France, taking their wealth and skills with them. This was only one of the many polices Louis issued in order to make his power absolute. Another one of his ultimate goals was to expand Frances borders. In order accomplish this, Louis fought four different wars. Afraid that France was becoming too powerful and disrupting the balance of power. England, the Netherlands, and Spain as well as Brandenburg, Austria, and German States formed alliances to defeat France. This caused huge financial strain on France's economy and Louis was forced to melt down the country's silver to help pay. The last war Louis fought was the war of the Spanish Succession in which he tried to get his grandson, Phillip of Anjou, on the Spanish throne. During this war, France was defeated all over the world and Louis was forced to accept the Treaty of Utrecht. His grandson did not get the Spanish throne. Louis left his legacy in France. Although he suffered many defeats, Louis achieved his goals of making France the most powerful nation in Europe through the use of absolutism.
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Cardinal Richelieu
One of the most trusted advisors to Louis XIII of France. Cardinal Richelieu is most credited for the establishment of France as an absolute monarchy during the 17th century. During Louis's reign the Richelieu was the Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and the head bishop of Lucon in 1607. By 1616, Richelieu became the secretary of state. Marie de Medici was exiled after conspiring against Richelieu. After this event occurred, Richelieu gained full control over the government. The Cardinal's goal was to make France supreme in Europe. To accomplish this task, he began a domestic policy which destroyed the power of the nobles and the political independence of the Huguenots. This political power was controlled by the Edict of Nantes. Richelieu strengthened the army and navy of France. Richelieu formed alliances with the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden and entered the Thirty Years' War. He died before the war's end with the signing of the Treaty of Westphalia. The war caused France to have huge financial strain with the heavy taxation that resulted. Richelieu's poor management of France's finances made France loose its money quickly not bringing his rule to satisfying end. Although he encouraged overseas trade, commercial capitalism, and he helped in the establishment of the French Academy.
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JAMES II
James II was the brother and successor of Charles II. Although Charles II learned from his father to work with the English parliament, his brother James II never did. James II came to the throne after his brother's death in 1685. James was a Catholic and a huge believer in royal absolutism. James treated the Whigs and Tories wrongfully and he intended to ease the life for the Catholics. James married Catholic princess, Mary of Modena, and in 1688 she gave birth to a young boy who would succeed his father. Protestants of England feared a long line of Catholic rulers. James, during his rule, had little use for Parliament, and this angered them. So a group of nobles and Parliamentary leaders deposed James II in the Glorious Revolution in 1688. After James was abdicated, Parliament asked James' daughter Mary and her husband, William of Orange, to rule jointly the throne of England. Before ascending to the throne, however, Mary and William were forced to accept the English Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights was a major step towards constitutional monarchy and in England; it made Parliament a representative body. It also prevented the establishment of absolute rule in England.
MICHAEL ROMANOV
After the death of Ivan the Terrible, Russia went through a period of unrest known as the Time of Troubles. During this period, nobles fought for power, claimants fought for the throne, and Russia's neighbors invaded. Then in 1613 the ruler Michael Romanov was elected to head the throne in Russia by the National Assembly. During the reign of the Romanovs, the family strengthened the government's monarchy. During Michael's reign, however, Russia's peasants were further broken down into to serfdom. Also, peace was achieved with Sweden and Poland as well as the country's military and industrial methods was further improved by the influence of the West. The Romanov family then ruled Russia for the next 300 years.
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FREDERICK II
He was very unlike his father, Frederick William I, but soon took up his father's dream of a Prussian Power. Upon inheriting the throne at the age of 28, Frederick started a war with the young Austrian princess, Maria Theresa. This war was known as the war of the Austrian Succession. During this war, Frederick seized the province of Silesia, which was rich in natural resources. Frederick offered an alliance to Maria Theresa with Prussia, but Maria rejected his offer starting the war of the Austrian Succession. Bavaria, Saxony, Spain, and France joined Prussia in the war with Austria, forcing Maria Theresa to sign a peace treaty giving Silesia to Prussia. This caused Prussia to become a major world power. This caused a disruption of the balance of power in England. As rivalries intensified in England, the Seven Years' War resulted. This war began in 1756 and was fought around the world. Prussia had lost many people during the war, and with no clear victor, a period of peace fell upon Europe. Although war was a major part of Frederick's life in foreign matters, Frederick also had reforms internally in his domestic policies. Frederick had a genius for organization and administration. He further improved public education and made several court reforms. He also improved the drainage systems in Prussia as well as roads and canals.
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PETER THE GREAT
In 1682, Peter ascended to the throne in 1682 and his one goal was to make Russia great and powerful. He believed that the only way to do this was to learn the ways of the Westerners and bring that style to Russia. The only way to do this was to do it himself. Under disguise, Peter traveled to western Europe, learning and buying whatever he could to make Russia powerful. He worked in a Dutch shipyard to learn shipbuilding and he talked with people in Europe about their tax system as well. Upon returning to Russia, Peter began a program of Westernization. He brought new ideas of military action and began to build up Russia's army. In 1709, Russia defeated Sweden and by 1721, Russia gained access to the Baltic Sea. Along the Baltic, Peter built the great city and new capital, St. Petersburg. He called his city the "Window to the West." After defeating the Turks the Russians then won access to the Black Sea. Peter's reforms, though, angered many people. The Russian Orthodox Church resented Peter's interference with the church affairs and the Russian nobility disapproved of the reconstructing of the government. Although this opposition occurred so did the reforms under Peter as well as under his daughters Empress Elizabeth and Catherine the Great. Under Peter the Great, Russia was able to reconstruct itself through the use of absolutism and the idea of westernization. |
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