Explain how Henry II quickly established himself as a secure and powerful king of England? Henry II used many different techniques and strategies to establish himself as a powerful king of England. Firstly, Henry was already a powerful man even before he became King of England. He inherited a huge section of France including Normandy and Anjou, as well as receiving Aquitaine when he married Eleanor. This huge amount of land that was under his controlled was known as the Angevin Empire, this land meant that Henry wasn’t going to be just King of England but also lord of half of France.
Louis the 14th was a very powerful king that had many positive influences over the country of France. As absolute monarch, Louis the 14th had an incredible strategy for ruling and improving his county, making him noteworthy of the title as the greatest king in the history of his country. Louis was able to increase France’s economy by producing its own goods to trade with other countries, as opposed to purchasing goods from other places, which proves to be more costly. In addition to that, he assembled the most advanced army in Europe at that time. Interestingly, Louis became a patron of the arts, and greatly shaped France’s culture by emphasizing the importance of art and theater, climaxing with the Palace at Versailles.
Lots of French culture was admired and copied. French was considered the language of aristocracy and royal courts all over the continent. France was also very influential with their palace built by Louis XIV in Versailles, the palace was so beautiful that other countries built their own palaces with the same idea and design. During The Old Regime, the palace symbolized the wealth and the value of the absolute monarchy. The absolute monarchy composed of king and queens who inherited their own position and would eventually pass down their title to their eldest son or daughter.
By the end of Elizabeth’s reign the Privy Council was the most powerful part of government. Discuss. The Privy Council was an elite group of men, selected by Elizabeth on the basis of political competence and ability, who rapidly became Elizabeth’s most trusted and loyal servants. Their role was to advise Elizabeth without challenging her authority, and although Elizabeth faced occasional opposition from them and other parts of her government, ultimately she remained the most powerful part of the government throughout her reign. The Privy Council was an important part of government as it was responsible for the day-to-day running of the country.
In October 1799 Napoleon became first consul of the government and in so being became the most powerful man in France. Napoleon claimed to be the “heir of the revolution” and to begin with he introduced a new system of government promoting “career open to talent” which allowed people from various origins to take high ranking positions in the government and military. Napoleon also made feudalism, which was abolished by the revolution illegal in France thus showing his support for the revolution. Napoleon also introduced legal reforms by writing the “Code Napoleon.” With this he replaced the law codes of the ancient regime which during the revolution had caused much confusion. This new set of laws meant that every French citizen had equal rights promoting the revolutionary idea of equality among all men.
Francois attended College Louis-le-Grand in the marvelous city of Paris where he got one of the highest educations available at the time. His father had a very active role in the writing culture, which inspired Voltaire’s ambitions to be writer and philosopher. Francois senior disapproved of these ambitions but was not successful in trying to crush them. An enlightenment idea that Voltaire is know for are that all people should have the freedoms of speech, press, and religion. He also had an idea that revolved around apposing monarchy, militarism, and slavery.
France’s Louis XIV’s reign lasted for 72 year. This is longer than that of any other European sovereign. During this time, he brought forward, absolute monarchy. He also established France as a dominant power in Europe, and ushered in a golden age of art and literature. Although his reign had some negative aspects, overall he benefitted France.
Word Count: 1529 The Bourbons ruled France absolutely for 230 years from 1589 to 1715, by using the Divine right of Kings, and uniting religiously to consolidate power in the country, developing a profitable fur trade, and introducing the new system of taxation, military, and meritocracy, hiring many ministers with talent. The power he had could be clearly seen by the brilliance of French culture of the time, and the luxury of the French court and his palace at Versailles. One strategy the Bourbons used was making it seem as though they had the Divine right of Kings, meaning God ordained Louis XIV to rule France. This enabled full power of the monarch in the country, and weakened the civilians and nobles. Since most people were Catholic, it was easy for him to instill obedience using propaganda.
In 1643 Louis XIV became King of France. He wanted to make his court the most powerful and magnificent in Europe. Their entertainments became even more spectacular when staged in the newly built Palace of Versailles. The academics laid down rules that had to be obeyed by all artistes working for the Royal court. The Academie Francaise decided upon the plot and meaning of the ballets.
From the time of the Revolutionary War this country has gained a government, laws and freedoms. George Washington’s bravery and intelligence led him to great victory. Defeating the British in the Revolutionary War made it possible to become our own country and decide how that country would be run. It was due to Washington’s leadership as a general that we defeated the British; because of that victory Washington was elected the first president of the Unites States. Washington served as president for two terms, during which he accomplished many new things.