The Power and Influence of Catherine De Medici Essay

Marie Antoinette is possibly one of the most famous French Monarchs. Born an Austrian princess, she because one of the last monarchs to rule the French, Marie Antoinette has had a major impact on French History but, most importantly, the French Revolution. Unfortunately, she isn’t remembered as a great queen or ruler, but because of the way her and her husband died on the guillotine.

At this point, Henry does not know anything of love. Throughout the whole First Book, Henry ignorantly disregards any possibility of love. ³I knew I did not love Catherine Barkley nor had any idea of loving her² (30). He willfully entered a relationship with Catherine, but did not have serious intentions with her, yet. To him it was just a ³game ... in which you said things² like ³I love you² (30). Henry casually speaks of this so-called love to Catherine, but her past experience with her fiancé have made her cautious when dealing with love. She knows the reality of love and the extent of Henry¹s feelings, ³You don¹t have to pretend you love me² (31).

Being the strong-willed ruler that she was, Catherine’s choices made an effect on her country, on the time period she was from, and she created her own legacy rather than following the usual lifestyle of a Queen or woman in the 1700’s. Less interested in the social reform than the preservations of the upper class, it didn’t phase Catherine if her plans didn’t sit well with the people that were higher up in the social class; and as serfdom began spreading to Ukraine and peasants revolted they were violently suppressed.During her time as ruler she didn’t bother sitting around and doing nothing, she had many architectural monuments commissioned in what is now modern day St. Petersburg, and had the West Wing of the Winter Palace finished in memory of her late husband, Peter of Russia. As a supporter of education, science and other subjects, Catherine made sure that others would be able to have the opportunity to grow to love these things as well. Catherine increased the number of Grade schools from 50 to 500 and increased the amount of high schools that were around drastically. She also created a high school that was just for girls from gentry families so that woman could have the same opportunities as the men.

the name Higgins of her parents. Margaret Higgins at the time, parents were Michael Hennessey Higgins and her mother was Anna Purcell Higgins. For work Michael Hennessey Higgins worked as a stonemason. Margaret’s

Was Catherine de Medici the main cause of The Saint Bartholomew's Massacre? Catherine was an Italian woman who married a French King, Henry II. They had ten children of which three were boys: Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III would later rule as king. Catherine enjoyed her role as Queen and mother and had no involvement with the King's affairs. It wasn't until after the King's death that she made her presence known.

It was said of Eleanor of Aquitaine “She was beautiful and just, imposing and modest, humble and elegant, who surpassed almost all the queens of the world.” However, Queen Eleanor was known to be the Grandmother of Europe, she had many children who became kings and queens. In the 12th century women were supposed to be quiet and unnoticeable, but Queen Eleanor never let that stop her from ruling France, England, Aquitaine, and the Count of Politiers, and of course ruling over the most powerful men of the time.

Mary’s uncle, Henry VIII, didn’t accept Mary having power at her age and he wanted the power. Of course, Mary’s mother didn’t allow that. Eventually Mary was engaged to her uncle’s son, Prince Edward of England. This idea was later rejected by the Scottish Catholics and this led to problems between England and Scotland, and Mary was sent away. Mary’s mom was French. Being that the French and the Scots had a long-lasting alliance, Mary was sent to and raised in France. At the age of five Mary was engaged to Francis, A four-year-old French heir, and this led to many other important changes in Mary’s life.

Catherine the Great, or otherwise known as Yekaterina Alexeyevna, ruled during Russia’s golden age and is the longest-ruling female leader of Russia. She ruled from 1762 to 1796, and was in responsible for reforming the Russian government. On her order, many new cities and towns were founded. She was also ruling when the first state-financed higher education institution for women in Europe, was established. She really is a inspiration to women and the power women posses.

Furthermore, Machiavelli encourages imperfect behavior, “a prince who wants to keep his power must learn to act immorally” (Machiavelli 33). Machiavelli ignores the picture of the flawless prince instead focuses on that in reality humans have vices and these vices should be accepted. Catherine would rather the leader to put their vices aside and follow the footsteps of Jesus. Machiavelli recognizes that imitation is works, “A wise man will follow in the footsteps of great men” (Machiavelli 11). But, they need to do more than just imitate to achieve success.

It isn't surprising that Catherine also blamed Wolsey for Henry wanting to divorce her. But, Catherine was not the only one with this idea. The ambassador, the emperor, Reginald Pole, Catholic controversialists, and Catholic writers ever since have agreed that Wolsey was probably the instigator.

In the beginning the Medici played a prominent part in Florence political life. But the Medici family were Merely one of the several families in Florence fighting for power. Their special status derived from several of activities in Florence Italy. Cosimo De’ Medici earned himself the posthumous title father of the fatherland (Medici Video). History acknowledges his great contribution to funding the arts in Florence and its dome with a genius engineer and artist Filippo Brunelleschi. Cosimo Medici never occupies any official position as head of state he remains a private citizen of Florence. He runs affairs by networks of alliances which benefit his own faction to

She was beheaded and buried near her cousin, Ann Boleyn. In 1543, the King married for the last time. Catherine Parr was a very good wife and stepmother. She encouraged Elizabeth and Edward in their lessons and in their interest in the protestant church.

Katherine of Aragon is famous for being the first of Henry VIII’s many wives, the one who fought back and defended her papally sanctioned marriage; the mother of Mary I; and the daughter of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, founders of the kingdom of España. These facts place her in the position of a traditional sixteenth century woman by defining her as wife, mother, and daughter. In these roles, many women have been overlooked as the subject of their own study, and it certainly makes sense to do this, as on the surface they are not in control of their own agency. Looking deeper, however, one can see that this role places women instead in a position of power. From behind the scenes, women like Katherine were able to pull the

Sixteenth century England experienced a phenomenon sometimes referred to as the Age of Queens. The decisive power of the country was placed in women’s hands and their reigns were watched with a reasonable doubt. There is contrast of rule in terms of reigns between Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth of England, both of whom were engaged in a protracted struggle for the English throne. Beside the legitimacy of their claims, there are more significant considerations which predestined them to either increase or lose their power. The rule and attitudes of the two monarchs bore significant influence upon the times in which they lived, including social, political and legal precedents which were being challenged and in some cases reversed. The fact that both Queens encountered situations of striking similarity, serves as a suitable example for a remarkable comparison, helping to analyze the lives of the two Queens and how their lives diverged as a result of such encounters and their actions thereafter. They were both Queens, struggling for the throne, they were women as well as rivals; they both had affairs with married men, however, one managed a narrow escape from the disgraceful situation, while the other failed to do so. Mary grew to hate Anne Boleyn, mother of Elizabeth, because he took the position of her mother Catharine as Queen of England. Before Elizabeth came to the scene, Mary was loved and was the only child of King Henry VIII of

Isabella d’Este had a very eventful life and helped prove that women can do more than be wives. Her first feat occurred in 1509 when her husband, Francesco Gonzaga, was captured as a prisoner of war. D’Este took over as the ruling regent, and “secured the loyalty of her people and was able to successfully control the military, eventually negotiating the release of the ailing Gonzaga” (Isabella d’Este par 3). Being able to control the military and get her husband released from a foreign country was a big deal, as women did not typically have control over government affairs. After controlling the military once, d’Este did it again in 1527, “defending Mantua against French attacks… and offering aid and comfort to refugees” (Isabella d’Este par 3). D’Este was favored so much by her