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BIOGRAPHIES

1. Henry VIII (14911547) King of England of the House of TudorHe is known for his six marriages and for his role in the separation of the Church of

England from the Roman Catholic. In 1534 declared himself the head of the Anglican

church.2. Francis I (1515- 1547) King of France

He initiated the French Renaissance and he was a patron of the arts.

Enemy of CharlesV, he tried to be more powerful than him, but he failed

3. Joseph II (1741-1790) Enlightened Emperor of Austria.Joseph saw the emperor as a servant to the state whose role was to take care of the

people and make them happy.

Joseph II was liberal and wanted to implement the ideas of the Enlightenment.

His policies are now known as Josephinism. He abolished serfdom and instituted public

education and healthcare. He also began religious tolerance

Emperor Joseph II had good ideas and was a very concerned, hard-working ruler, but he

had problems with trying to do too much too soon.

4. Charles II of Spain ( 1661- 1700) AbsolutismThe last Hapsburg king,at a crisis time for Spain during he absolutism. He was a weak

monarch, known as "El Hechizado. He was unable to govern and trust the power to

Duke of Medina.

He died without descendants.

5. Louis XIV of France ( 17541793) The model of absolutismHe moved his court to Versalles and took all his ministers with him (centralisation).

Im the state is a famous line of him.

He pacified nobility and became one of the most powerful Franch monarchs.His way of

ruling endured until the French revolution .

6. Philip V ( 1683- 1746) First Bourbon in Spain- Absolutist monarchLouis XIVs grandson, his reign is the longest in modern Spanish history.

He escended to the throne after the War of Succession in 1714. He unified and

centralized the administration and legislation of all the kingdoms with the New Model

Decrees. The only that continued were the Basque ones.

7. Charles III of Spain ( 1716-1788) Enlightened monarch.He helped lead Spain to a brief cultural and economic revival.He tried to rescue his

empire from decay doing some reforms : he weaked the Church power, he promoted

science and education, he promoted trade and commerce, he modernizated agriculture

and he avoided wars.

After his death Spain relapsed but he is considered one of the greatest in Spanish history.

8. Catherine The Great of Rusia ( 1729 1796) Enlightened monarch.She was the most renowed and thelongest-ruling female leader of Russia.

The period of Catherine the Greats rule, the Catherinian Era, is often considered the Golden

Age of the Russian Empire and the Russian nobility.

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9. Count Duke of Olivares ( 15871645) AbsolutismHe was the valido of Philip IV and governed like an absolutist monarch at a crisis

time for Spanish power. He wanted to recover the Spanish power in Europe.

He tried to cover the cost of the war by increasing taxation and there were a lot of

uprisings. He wanted to unify army in Spain and that not only Castile supported it by

the Union Of Arms. It brought uprisisings in many places.

The nobility began to plot against him and he was dismissed.

Hardworking, ambicious, Olivares tried to resolve the problems of Spain unifying

territories and taxes and centralizating power, but he failed.

10.Cardinal Richelieu (1585 1642) French Cardinal during absolutismHe is considered the first Prime minister of the world. He tried to centralizate crowns

power and control nobilitys power during the reign of Louis XIV.

He was succeeded by Cardinal Mazarin.

Richelieu was the villian in The three Musketeers.

11.Cardinal Mazarin ( 1602- 1661) French Cardinal during absolutismFirst minister of France after Cardinal d Richelieus death in 1642. He completed

Richelieus work with Louis XIV.He first served to the Pope.

12.John Calvin (1509 1564) French theologian during the Protestant ReformationCalvin was one of the chief leaders of the Protestant Reformation.

He introduced new forms of church government and liturgy, the calvinism: a

complete system of Christian faith, based on the Protestant principle that the

Scriptures are the source of Christian truth.

13.Martin Luther ( 14831546) German Reformer

Luther led the Protestant Reformation in Germany and he became the first great figure

of Protestantism. He didnt try to divide the Church, but make it better.

He preached the revolutionary idea that salvation could not be attained through priests

or donations but only through faith. He became antisemitic.

14.Thomas More ( 1478- 1535) English Christian humanist.He denounced thecorruption ,riches and vice in religious life. He wrote Utopia

He was executed by Henry VIII for disagreeing with his reformist and centralist

policies.

15.Ignatius of Loyola (1491- 1556) Religious leader in the Counter ReformationBasque nobleman who founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).He obeyed the

Catholic Church?s authority and hierarchy. He tried to make the church more

powerful (even using force) and he believed in a less rich Church.

16.Machiavelli (1469- 1527) RenaissanceHe was a diplomatit, italian politician, philosofer and writer. He was a leading figure

of the Italian Renaissance. In 1513 he published The Prince, a political doctrine. In

that book he explains what a perfect prince must do and what not.

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