European Rulers

Rulers in Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries used different techniques to successfully control the country that they ruled. According to Machiavelli, a fifteenth century writer, a ruler should be like a lion and like a fox. Even though no monarch precisely fits into the perfect description based on Machiavelli’s opinion, both Elizabeth I of England and Catherine the Great of Russia thrived as sovereigns of their nations.

Elizabeth the First was the monarch of England from 1558 until 1603.When she became queen in 1558 she was twenty-five years old and considered illegitimate to rule by most Europeans due to her mother. In addition, she inherited a nation torn by religious discord. She ruled by herself for nearly half a century without a man by her side and was known as the “virgin queen”. Her sense of duty was admirable and she was committed to preserve English peace and stability, putting politics and the well being of England before religion. Both the Protestant and Catholic religions were fighting for control through the monarchy. Elizabeth’s predecessor, Mary the First, was a strong Catholic that executed many Protestants and wanted religious uniformity of the Roman Catholic Faith. However, Elizabeth was a Protestant and strived for religious peace.

Elizabeth is an excellent example of a ruler that closely followed Machiavelli’s suggestions. As an un-married queen she dangled her marriage and put it to political use. When she became Queen proposals of marriage flooded in, however Elizabeth committed herself to none of them. She managed to use her single state to benefit the country by using the bait of marriage to draw in enemies, or to frighten them by suggesting she would marry one of their foes. Elizabeth, using the marriage as a political leverage embodied what Machiavelli wanted; a ruler that acted like a fox. She used her unmarried status to create bonds with male rulers of other nations embodying the sly, sneaky, and clever personification of a fox’s characteristics.

To stop the religious arguments throughout England, Elizabeth established the Anglican Church. This began a Church with the Roman Catholic hierarchy and Protestant doctrine.  The compromise made moderate Catholics and Protestants happy. However, extremists on both sides wanted their religion to be dominant. Elizabeth I, acting like a lion, made sure that no one and nothing came in the way of the religious serenity she created. When Mary Queen of Scotts, a legitimate queen to the throne, was a ploy in the Roman Catholics’ plot to overthrow Elizabeth, Elizabeth executed her. She was forceful, strong, and took control of the situation in Europe, just like a lion, to create a nation where there was religious toleration and superior leadership.

Catherine II was a female ruler of Russia reigning from 1762 to 1796. She was an empress that expanded, improved, and modernized Russia to the West’s standard. She helped Russia grow stronger so that it became recognized as one of the great powers of Europe.

 Catherine the Great understood that her country needed a change in order for it to remain a world power.  In 1767 she assembled a Legislative Commission to help. To increase economic prosperity, under her reign, the exports of grain, flax, fur, and naval stores increased and the urban middle class grew. She expanded Russia through wars and completed the conquest of the south began by Peter the Great. The Russian victories against the Ottoman Empire gave the Russians access to the Black Sea. She took no mercy on other countries and put Russia first just like with the ferocity a mother lion would have protecting her cubs. She knew what she wanted to get done and had an intuitive sense into what needed to be completed for the success of Russia.