A Nation’s Fate is Determined by Its Ruler Essay

Louis XIV, Peter the Great, and Tokugawa Ieyasu all considered their own power and strengthened their states in many different ways but their actions were all similar. They united their states, introduced reforms and assessed their power and the effect that they could have on others. Although their techniques were different, the ways these monarchs ruled their states show great similarities.

Prosperous Political aspects of Spain’s rise was diminutive, however it brutally terminated their Golden age. Ferdinand and Isabella made Spain a strong country with many territories in Europe and the America’s. In contrast one can see the corrupt policies of Philip II and there enormous effect on Spain’s decline. Spain lost a great deal of land trying to convert people to Catholicism. In their efforts to convert and spread Christianity during the thirty years war, Spain lost complete control of the Netherlands. In addition to losing the Netherlands, the English defeat of the Spanish armada completely crushed Spain, not only

In addition, there were many domestic and foreign policies Philip II created during his rule in power. One policy he created was against the Muslims. As of the year that he created the policy, he lost half of the strength of his navy from losing wars with the Turkish Empire, as talked about before ("Philip II"). While attempting to repair his navy back to its full strength once again, the Muslim pirates attacked Spain. Prisoners were taken, but King Philip was able to bring back his navy, but soon enough, the Turks attacked again and it was looking very poor for Spain at this point ("Good King Philip?"). After many more small wars, both sides were left with very little military presence, so Spain and France signed a truce. Philip II also created a two-fold policy: “He sent ministers to Portugal to build up support for him being king which would have meant Spain absorbing Portugal into her kingdom” (Trueman). He also created a very large army, also stated above. The noblemen of Portugal supported Philip II, and also clearly hoped to get rewards for their support. Nearly all of the problems Philip II faced were results of his policies and problems that were soon to be fixed.

In 1585 he settled about 100 men on Roanoke Island, but they did not settle and returned a year later. In 1587 he sent another group to settle that included a number of women and children. A supply ship was sent to the settlers but was delayed by the attack of the Spanish Armada on England in 1588. Help did not arrive until 1590, but it was too late and there was no one to be found. The attack of the Spanish Armada was spurred by King Phillip the 2nd. His motives were religious as England seemed committed to Protestantism as well as for economic and political reasons. An English fleet of 197 ships were able to conquer the invasion and led to Spain no longer being able to prevent the English from settling in the New World.

There were many factors that caused such an attack. England was a Protestant country, and Spain was devoutly Catholic. The Spanish thought Queen Elizabeth and her Protestant beliefs had to be stopped at all costs. In 1587, Elizabeth had Mary, Queen of Scots, executed. Mary and Philip II were both allies and fellow Catholics, and she had offered the throne of England to him if she were to ever obtain it. After her execution, Philip felt it was his religious duty to make sure no more Catholics were persecuted in England. Not only was England Protestant, but they were also assisting Protestant rebels in the Spanish Netherlands, which “consisted of modern day Holland and Belgium”. Philip II ruled the Netherlands as a Spanish colony, and he wanted them to be Catholic like the mother country. Mainly, Holland wished to be independent from Spanish rule because they did not like

Her most famous success story is the Spanish Armada. Phillip’s plan was to “win control of the English Channel, to rendezvous with the Duke of Parma off the coast of Holland, and to transport Parma’s army of some 30,000 men from the Netherlands across the Channel”(Doc 7). Elizabeth made a two step assault that first trapped Medina Sidonia in Calais Roads, where Parma could not join him for fear of the Dutch. Then, she sent fire ships in disguised as bomb-ships, which are deadly, and successfully confused the Spanish ships and forced them to flee. Finally, at the battle off Gravelines, the English used long-range guns to win. From this battle England gained prestige. The Spanish Armada proves that Elizabeth was a capable ruler who understood military strategy and the importance of protecting her country and

Have you ever heard the phrase “a team is only as good as its weakest player”? This idea is opposite for a nation, however. A country is only as good as its strongest leader. Not every president that runs and is elected into office is going to be the best there 's ever been, and it’s true we’ve had some pretty terrible presidents. But those weaker presidents didn’t leave a lasting impression on our country. Only those presidents that were strong and stood for or against something are remembered and studied. This doesn’t just apply to presidents, but to any great men. As great men or women come into our society and make a difference we all grow as a nation and every nation is different depending on its

I have chosen King Philip II because I wanted to learn more about him and his reign of Spain. King Philip II was king of Spain from the year 1556 until 1598. He was also known as Philip the Prudent, King of Portugal, King of Naples and Sicily, jure uxoris King of England and Ireland, Duke of Milan, and Lord of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands. He ruled one of the world’s largest empires. He became king in the Golden Age. The Spanish Golden Age was a period of flourishment in the arts and in literature.

Great civilizations and empires have changing political atmospheres based on the development of the nation. Political divisions can form and dissolve quickly based on the focus of an economy or the values of the population. However, civil wars are caused by deeply rooted political divisions that are caused by a lack of compromise and politicians prioritizing other issues besides those plaguing the majority of the empire. Often times, violence and hatred begin to infiltrate the government and compromise becomes impossible between two opposing ideologies. In Roman civilization, the deep rooted political division can be traced back to the Senate ignoring the policies of the Gracchi brothers and their ensuing deaths. In the present American society, the political atmosphere is beginning to mirror that of Rome around the time of the death of the Gracchi brothers. The division between the two political parties is widening due to hatred and violence that is beginning to appear more often in political situations. Using Roman civilization as an example, the causes and effects of the current political division in America can be predicted if the atmosphere does not become more accepting of the opposing party.

One day, every great thing must come to an end. For Hapsburg Spain, that day came years after it had its rise. Every Empire has its great leaders to build it up and then they have leaders who get it and start to lose all their territories and power. For Hapsburg it all started with Ferdinand and Isabella. They build it up just so their grandson, Charles V, would slowly let it fall back to the bottom. He was not the only one who played part in the downfall how ever. Philip the II had a part in it also. Lets take a journey into the rise and fall of Hapsburg Spain starting with the “Catholic Kings also known as Ferdinand and Isabella(Perry,374)”. Then finish it off like Charles V and Philip II did with the Empire.

The king's foreign policy was dominated by a fear of Spain which was not shared by the English people. The strife which had continued through the last years of Elizabeth was terminated sensibly enough by a peace almost immediately after James's accession. But James was possesed by an extravagant obsequiousness to Spain, which led to one of the most shameful incidents of the

Of course, just because this was an era in which brought a lot of greatness for the modern world, there was some fallout. Many countries still went to war, and kingdoms were still on fire. And one of these fallouts, or potential fallout, was when Spain sent in the Spanish Armada, which had about 130 ships, and sailed off from Coruña in August 1588. Their goal was to invade England and overthrown the queen at the time. And the man who was in charge of the massive fleet would be Duke of Medina Sidonia. However, the Spanish Armada proved itself to be an expensive failure for Spain, but was a great celebrated victory of the English. And the man who made it possible was the great hero, Sir Francis Drake. Of course, England set in their own armada

The summer of 1588, the world’s most known organized fleet set sail to conquer England and make themselves a supreme power. King Philip II decided to send the Spanish Armada to invade and attack England. In this time period, hostilities stirred up between two powerful countries that wanted what was best for themselves. Spain at the time was just starting to gather forces and begin the development of their fleet. Well, in the year 1588 Queen Elizabeth I constructed a fleet of her own, which later became one of the most dominant navies in the world. The Spanish Armada was a major obstacle for England, and even though defeat had come, the strengths and weaknesses of both sides came into view and the effects it had after the English triumphed over them.

Along with this, this also led to the beginning of a power shift in leaders, where Elizabeth I, a woman, disobeyed Phillip II, a man, something that was considered very taboo during this time. This rejection overall angered Phillip as he had plans of marrying Elizabeth I for the purpose of joining her to reign the throne of England. The acrimony Phillip II then felt due to being rejected, led him to the irrational plan that was the Spanish Armada. Within this plan, Phillip II decided to attack England to gain complete control over them. His mindset was strictly focused on Spain gaining complete power, which in turn ended up working against him as it is through this that Spain’s great downfall begun. The Spanish Armada was created, and along with this, Spain’s loss of power had been initiated. Charles Phillips, British author, supports the idea of Elizabeth I marriage rejection angering King Phillip II to creating the Spanish Armada against England, which thus in turn created Spain’s dramatic downfall, in “King’s and Queens of Britain’s Golden Age” writing in the section “The Age of Elizabeth (46)” “With the death of Mary, Phillip saw that he himself could now lay claim to the english crown in the event of the restoration of Catholicism.” Here, Phillips is supporting the idea that through Phillip II’s marriage proposal, he had high hopes of gaining more power and taking over England just as he did with Portugal. Therefore, it is through

Sovereignty Sovereignty refers to ultimate and absolute authority designated to either an individual or an institutional body. The term sovereignty could be contested due to the fact that there is no universally agreed definition. Thomas Hobbes defined what he considered the basis of a political body as 'the most high and perpetual.' (Hobbes, quoted in Heywood, 1997, p26.)