Politique Leaders Research Paper

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Assignment #2 HST 111 Politique Leaders of the Sixteenth & Seventeenth Century During the late sixteenth century, the rise of “politique” leaders came about in Europe. Henry of Navarre, Elizabeth I, and William the Silent are all excellent examples of leaders who were considered “politiques”. A politique can be defined is a leader who puts their government’s success above anything else. They demonstrate political, economic, and social success while advocating for positive change during their reign. These three leaders all embodied passionate beliefs towards running their country. A politique leader also knows how to handle a situation in times of desperation, which is exactly what all three of these leaders did. Henry, Elizabeth,…show more content…
Henry is considered one of the greatest kings of France due his many contributions, including ending the French Wars of Religion (page 475). During the French Wars of Religion, Henry became the leading Huguenot, a French Protestant. Henry married Marguerite de Valois of France in order to restore friendly relations with the French, only to make things even more troubled between the Huguenots and the Catholics (historylearning). This created more problems between the two religions because Henry practiced Calvinism and married Marguerite who was French and Catholic. In 1589, Henry III’s death led to Henry IV becoming the King of France. It was at this time that Henry converted to Catholicism and signed the Edict of Nantes in 1598, officially ending the war between the Huguenots and the Catholics. Henry converted to Catholicism in order to satisfy his country (historylearning). This is only one of the many reasons why Henry is considered to be a politique leader. Converting religions to satisfy his country demonstrates that Henry was willing to put the beliefs of his own country before his. Also, Henry ended the war between the Huguenots and the Catholics. Ending the war between the two religions was a huge success because religious power was such a big deal during his time at heir. The choices Henry made during his power in France classifies him as an evident politique…show more content…
Although William was born in Germany, he inherited his thrown in the Netherlands where he led the Dutch revolt against the Spanish crown. William had always believed in free practice of religion and pitied religious movements such as the Calvinist movements in France and the Netherlands (heritage-history). William’s beliefs about religious freedom led him to defeat the Catholic forces under the control of Louis XIV of France. Because of this defeat, the Catholics were driven out of the Dutch Republic (bbc.co.uk). Many Calvinist refugees fled to Holland and Zealand from other provinces because these countries were religiously tolerant. Although William was open to the practice of free religion, he converted to Calvinism after the situations with the Duke of Alba and Philip II (479). Lastly, William and his wife, Mary, were offered by the English Parliament to be joint monarchs of now also England and Ireland (bbc.co.uk). All of these actions help support William as a powerful politique leader. Williams beliefs in religious freedom allowed the Dutch to grow socially as a country. William also set a good tone; although he converted to Calvinism, he still never forced upon a certain religion. Religious intolerance was unheard of by William, creating a strong kingship for him. Also, the fact that the English Parliament asked him to joint rule is also considered to be politique. William’s way of ruling grabbed the
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