European Rulers
Charles V
AUSTRIA (1519-1556) Divided up the Habsburg land. He was the king of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. He fought Protestants in Germany. He led a war with the Ottoman Empire. He resigned and entered a monastery. He gave the Holy Roman Empire throne to his brother Ferdinand and gave the Spain throne to his son Phillip.
Ferdinand II
AUSTRIA (1619-1637) , head of Hapsburg family, future Holy Emperor, protestants did not trust him, he closed many Protestant churches, this sparked the 30 year war
Charles VI
AUSTRIA (1711-1740), Leopold's son, 2 daughters Maria Theresa and Maria Anna, passed Pragmatic Sanction (1713)
Maria Theresa
AUSTRIA (1749-1780), Archduchess of Austria, queen of Hungary. Lost the Hapsburg possession of Silesia to Frederick the Great but was able to keep her other Austrian territories.
Joseph II
AUSTRIA (1780-1790),Enlightened despot; he abolished serfdom, eliminated the death penalty, established the principle of equality of all before the law, and enacted religious reform, including religious toleration/
Francis Joseph I
AUSTRIA (1848-1916), He was an Austrian emperor who established an imperial diet (Reichsrat) in Austria in hopes of restoring stability, he also created dual monarchy of Hungary and Austria, was assasinated in Bosnia by Serbian Black Hand assassins.
Metternich
AUSTRIA foreign minister, who controlled the Congress of Vienna. Wanted to promote peace, conservatism, and the repression of libaral nationalism throughout Europe.
Henry VII
BRITAIN (1485-1509), The first Tudor king that worked to establish a strong monarchical government and ended the private wars of nobles in England.
Henry VIII
BRITAIN (1509-1547), son of Henry VII and King of England from 1509 to 1547 his divorce from Catherine of Aragon resulted in his break with the Catholic Church in 1534 and the start of the Reformation in England (1491-1547)
Edward VI
BRITAIN (1547-1553), During his short reign of England, Protestant ideas exerted a significant influence on the religious life of the country
Mary I
BRITAIN (1553-1558), She took over the English throne in 1553. She made England more Catholic after burning more than 300 Protestants at the stake. This event gave her the name "Bloody ____".
Elizabeth I
BRITAIN (1558-1603), Tudor Queen of England. Succeeded Mary I in 1558 and ruled until 1603. In addition to leading the defeat of the Spanish Armada and developing England into a world power, she strengthened Protestantism. Daughter of Henry VIII.
James I
BRITAIN (1603-1625), Son of Mary Queen of Scots. Ruled England and Scotland together until 1625. Believed in divine-righ trule and Angelicanism, which lef to conflict with the largely Purtian Parliament. Closest relative to Elizabeth I at the time of her death.
Charles I
BRITAIN (1625-1649), Son of James I, a king of England. He tried to govern without Parliament and to finance the English government by arbitrary levies, which brought large political conflict.
Oliver Cromwell
BRITAIN (1649-1658), As Lord Protector of England he used his army to control the government and constituted military dictatorship
Charles II
BRITAIN (1660-1685), king when monarchy was re-established, wanted to share power with parliament but had to dissolve parliament when they became a threat to the catholic church
James II
BRITAIN (1685-1688), the new King of England in 1685, who was overthrown in 1688 in the "Glorious Revolution"
Mary II and William III
BRITAIN (1689-1702), Mary II (James daughtrer) and her husband take thrown and agree to rule as constitutional monarchs & accept bill of rights. Limited power.
George I
BRITAIN (1714-1727), first Hanoverian king of England
George III
BRITAIN (1760-1820), King of England during the American Revolution; wished to keep the Americans as a loyal colony; instituted many taxes on the colonists to boost revenue for England
Benjamin Disraeli
BRITAIN (1868,1874-1880), British CONSERVATIVE; extended vote to all middle class male workers; needed to broaden aristocratic voter basis.
William Gladstone
BRITAIN (1868-1874, 1880-1885, 1886, 1892-1894), A LIBERAL British Prime Minister who gave concessions to various parties and ultimately introduced bills for Irish self-governance (home rule)
David Lloyd George
BRITAIN (1916-1922) LIBERAL, British leader who saw German naval expansion as detestable military challenge that forced Britain and other countries to spend the "People's Budget" on ships rather than social welfare
Neville Chamberlain
BRITAIN (1937-1940) NATIONAL, British statesman who as Prime Minister pursued a policy of appeasement toward nazi Germany
Sir Winston Churchill
BRITAIN (1940-1945, 1951-1955), British politician and Prime Minster. He is regarded as the finest British leader of the 20th century and was instrumental in leading Britain to victory during World War II.
Margaret Thatcher
BRITAIN (1979-1990), prime minister of Britain; strong relationship with Reagan; supported NATO, allowed US to store missiles in England; one of the first Western leaders to act warmly toward reformer Gorbachev
Charles VII
FRANCE (1422-1461) VALOIS, After The Hundred Years War, he worked with the Estates-General to estabish a royal army and to levy taille.
Louis XI
FRANCE (1461-1483), (1461-1483) VALOIS French king, nicknamed the"Spider King," manipulated the Estates-General to gain a permanent taille, took over part of Burgandy when Charles the Bold died
Henry IV of Navarre
FRANCE (1589-1610) BOURBON, A politique whose rise to power ended the French Civil Wars; converted to Catholicism to gain loyalty of Paris, but privately remained a Calvinist and issued Edict of Nantes
Louis XIV
FRANCE (1643-1715) BOURBON, The French King who built the palace at versailles, The longest standing King of France "Sun King", One of the most powerful monarchs of Europe, ruling 72 years. He was famous for his quote,"I am the state." Moved capital to Versailles which became a symbol of power.
Louis XVI
FRANCE (1774-1792), BOURBONruler of France who was executed during the radical phase of the French Revolution.
National Assembly
FRANCE (1789-1791)First Republic, a French congress established by representatives of the Third Estate on June 17, 1789, to enact laws and reforms in the name of the French people
Legislative Assembly
FRANCE (1791-1792), replaced National Assembly; took away most of king's power
National Convention
FRANCE (1792-1795), September 1792, Jacobin leaders, ordered that French Generals should dissolve the old governments, confiscate gov't and church property, abolish titles, hunting rights and seigneurial dues, and set up provisional administrations (Committee of Public Saftey)
Directory
FRANCE (1795-1799) Thermedorian phase, This was a moderate government that replaced the National Convention after the Reign of Terror. It was a weak and corrupt government.
Napoleon Bonaparte
FRANCE (1799-1815) First Council, Army general who rose to become Emperor of France and conquered more the half of Europe. Established a Consulate, Concordat with the church, and Civil Code. Defeated 1815 at Waterloo.
Louis XVIII
FRANCE (1814-1824) BOURBON, restored the White flag of the Bourbons and recognized Catholic Christianity as the state religion, but left most changes brought by the revolution to the French government unchanged
Charles X
FRANCE (1824-1830) BOURBON, He inherited the throne after Louis XVIII died. He tried to rule as absolute monarch. He suspended the power of the legislature and the cictizens revolted and Revolutionof 1830 started
Louis Philippe
FRANCE (1830-1848) BOURBON-Orleans, More liberal than the restoration government; supported the constitution; cooperated with the Chamber of Deputies; "king of the French" rather than "king of France"; anti-clerical; censorship abolished; tricolor revolutionary flag; duke of Orléans.
Louis Napoleon/Napoleon III
FRANCE (1848-1852, 1852-1870)Second Republic President/ Empire Emperor, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, won presidential election in 1848 and later became Emperor. Considered a strong ruler, he built railroads, encouraged industrialization and promtoed public works. Unemployment decreased and France experienced prosperity
Raymond Poincaré
FRANCE (1913-1920) Third Republic, French president, made France's responsibility for the war seem minimal, moved and occupied into the Ruhr to collect war reparations
Charles de Gaulle
FRANCE (1944-1946, 1959-1969) Provisional Government, 4/5th Republic, Leader of Free French General that resigned in 1946 after re-establishing the free, democratic Fourth Republic. Came back to lead the Fifth Republic in 1959.
Cardinal Richelieu
FRANCE Chief minister ruling under Louis XIII (1610-1643), had a great influence on Louis VIII during his reign, influened him to utilize asolutism, installed royal commisioners to oversee their districts
William I
GERMANY (1861-1888) HOHENZOLLERN, was Kaiser of Prussia, made Otto von Bismarck a chancellor. Hires Bismarck and becomes king of all of Germany.
William II
GERMANY (1888-1918) HOHENZOLLERN, fired Bismarck, creates social welfare program that helped the poor, wanted to build oversee empire for germany in Africa and Asia, created cheap transportation
Adolf Hitler
GERMANY (1934-1945), Austrian-born founder of the German Nazi Party and chancellor of the Third Reich . His fascist philosophy, embodied in Mein Kampf (, attracted widespread support, and after 1934 he ruled as an absolute dictator. Hitler's pursuit of aggressive nationalist policies resulted in the invasion of Poland and the subsequent outbreak of World War II. His regime was infamous for the extermination of millions of people, especially European Jews. He committed suicide when the collapse of the Third Reich was imminent.
Willy Brandt
GERMANY (1969-1974), West German chancellor began to improve relations with eastern Europe.
Helmut Kohl
GERMANY (1982-1990. 1991-1998) , leader of the Christian Democratic Union in west germany who was forced to raise taxes after reunification
Otto von Bismarck
GERMANY chancellor ruling under William I (1861-1888), He succeeded where others had failed. He came from Prussia's Junker class, made up of conservative landowning nobles. Bismarck first served Prussia as a diplomat in Russia and France.
Fredrick William
PRUSSIA/GERMANY (1640-1688) HOHENZOLLERN, "THE GREAT ELECTOR: 1st Prussian ruler; unites Brandenburg and other states to form Prussia; runs state as if it were army; builds civil service based on military (Commissant governs both civil and military)
Fredrick I
PRUSSIA/GERMANY (1688-1713) HOHENZOLLERN, The Great Elector's son. First Hohenzollern to call himself king. By the treaty of Utrecht, his duchy of east Prussia was recognized as a kingdom. There after, all Hohenzollern territories were grouped under the name Prussia.
Fredrick William I
PRUSSIA/GERMANY (1713-1740) HOHENZOLLERN, "THE SOLDIER KING"; the most talented reformer from the Hohenzollern family; Under his rule, Prussia built the best army in Europe for its size and transformed into a model military state; SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE HE ESTABLISHED TRUE ABSOLUTISM IN PRUSSIA AND ITS TERRITORIES.
Fredrick II
PRUSSIA/GERMANY (1740-1786) HOHENZOLLERN, "_________ THE GREAT" "1st servant of the state." Granted relgious freedoms, reduced censorship, improved education, banned torture.
Ivan III the Great
RUSSIA (1440-1505) built framework for absolute rule; limited power of boyars; double headed eagle; took title of Czar; made Moscow the capital
Disputed Line of Succession
RUSSIA (1598-1613) no one was ruling Russia during this time because there was the Times of Troubles
Peter I the Great
RUSSIA (1682-1725) ROMANOV. He went to europe and learned lots. wanted to westernize/modernize russia and make it a great european power.Russia gets better and the people have higher education. creates modern army and first navy. brings generals from west to teach armies.
Catherine II the Great
RUSSIA (1762-1796) ROMANOV, Leader of Russia who became very familiar with Enlightenment thought. Good friends with Diderot and Voltaire. She tried to enact major reforms but she never intended to abandon absolutism. She assured nobles of their rights and by the end of her reign had imposed press censorship.
Alexander I
RUSSIA (1801-1825) ROMANOV, the czar of Russia whose plans to liberalize the government of Russia were unrealized because of the wars with Napoleon
Nicolas I
RUSSIA (1825-1855) ROMANOV, Russian Czar who resisted all change, and supported landlords and nobles over peasants, and limited education. He led a poorly trained army to lose the Crimean War.
Alexander III
RUSSIA (1881-1894) ROMANOV, Didn't want to get killed like his father, so he ended liberal reforms and returned Russia to a true autocracy, among other things (like persecuting minorities such as Jews).
Alexander II
RUSSIA (1885-1881) ROMANOV, Emperor of Russia; advocated moderate reforms for Russia; emancipated the serfs; he was assassinated.
Nicolas II
RUSSIA (1894-1917) ROMANOV, tsar of russia during Rev. of 1905 who abdicated in the Feb/Mar Revolution of 1917. had no desire to be a tsar; his father died when he was very young. he was not suited to it. thought tsars were still very common b/c he ignored European democratization. didn't understand the gap between rich & poor in his country.
Boris Yeltsin
RUSSIA (1991-1999), First leader of the Russian Republic. His pro-democracy reaction when Gorbachev's push for reform was held off by the Communist establishment was a rallying point for Russian democratic supporters.
Vladimir Putin
RUSSIA (2000-2008), elected president of Russia in 2000, launched reforms aimed at boosting growth and budget revenues and keeping Russia on a strong economic track.
Ivan IV
RUSSIA 91533-1584), "______ THE TERRIBLE" First Czar of Russia. During good Era: made many reforms, Created a council that included members from all classes, Defeated Mongols and expanded borders. During bad Era: Paranoid and strict policies lost many of his followers. Killed his only heir and launched Russia into a Time of Troubles.
Peter Stolypin
RUSSIA Chief Minister under Nicolas II, prime minister. Arrests, pogroms, and executions happened as he tried to restore order.
Sergei Witte
RUSSIA Minister of Finance under Nicolas II, A tough finance minister who thought that Russia's industrial backwardness was threatening Russia's power and greatness
Alexander Kerensky
RUSSIAN PROVISIONAL GOV (1917), major political leader before and during the Russian Revolutions of 1917 and served as second prime minister.
Vladimir Lenin
SOVIET UNION (1917-1924), He was the Bolshevik leader and founder of the Soviet Union in 1917. He agreed with Marx in that revolution was what created history. He wanted to overthrow the tsars in Russia through revolution. He was not a proletariat. He believed in any actions that could bring communism to a country.
Joseph Stalin
SOVIET UNION (1924-1953), Bolshevik revolutionary, head of the Soviet Communists after 1924, and dictator of the Soviet Union from 1928 to 1953. He led the Soviet Union with an iron fist, using Five-Year Plans to increase industrial production and terror to crush opposition
Nikita Khrushchev
SOVIET UNION (1958-1964), He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union following the death of Joseph Stalin, and Chairman of the Council of Ministers. He was responsible for the De-Stalinization of the USSR, as well as several liberal reforms ranging from agriculture to foreign policy.
Leonid Brezhnev
SOVIET UNION (1964-1982), , the Soviet Union began a period of stagnation and limited "re-Stalinization." His Soviet Union ignored human rights provisions of the Helsinki agreement. And East West political competition remained very much alive outside Europe.
Mikhail Gorbachev
SOVIET UNION (1985-1991), , Soviet leader in the mid 80s who introduced policies of increased openness (glasnost) and a program of political and economic restructuring (perestroika).
Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile
SPAIN (1474-1516), Monarch of largest Christian kingdom in Iberia; marriage created united Spain; responsible for reconquest of Granada, initiation of exploration of New World.
Ferdinand
SPAIN (1506-1516) ARAGON, united Castile and Aragon through his marriage with Isabelle, to form the new nation of Spain...ordered all Jews within the two kingdoms to become Christians
Charles I
SPAIN (1516-1556) HABSBURG See Charles V
Philip II
SPAIN (1556-1598) HAPSBURG, The son of Charles V was born and educated in Spain. Spain's financial problems grew as he pursued his leadership position as head of the Counter Reformation. He sent the Spanish Armada against England in 1588, but it ended in disaster.
Philip V
SPAIN (1700-1746) BOURBON ruler in Spain; established laws, administration, and language of Castile in other Spanish kingdoms— centralize his power
Francisco Franco
SPAIN (1939-1975) , led the Spanish military forces revolt against the democratic government in 1936 (Spanish Civil War); ended when his forces captured Madrid and he established a dictatorship that favored large landowners, businesspeople, and the Catholic clergy