King Frederick II of Prussia (1740 – 1786)

Frederick II was born on January 24, 1712, in Berlin, Germany. He inherited the Prussian throne in 1740 and established control of Silesia in 1745. The Seven Years' War threatened to destroy Prussia's status, but ended with Silesia still in Frederick's control. During his time on the throne, Frederick increased Prussia's territories and military power.

In 1741, Prussia consisted of scattered territories across central Europe and few significant allies save for Great Britain. Sensing weakness in the Austrian Empire, Frederick deceived Habsburg Queen Maria Theresa to allow his armies to occupy Lower Silesia in exchange for protection from France, Spain and Bavaria. He then proceeded to invade key areas, forcing Maria Theresa to cede almost all of Silesia by 1745.

In 1756, Austria, backed by France and Russia, tried to regain control of Silesia. Frederick struck preemptively, invading Saxony, and with his ally Great Britain started the Seven Years War. In a series of battles to the death, Frederick lost territory, then gained it, then lost it again. In 1760, Austro-Russian forces occupied Berlin, and Frederick, reduced to despair, considered suicide. However, the death of Empress Elizabeth of Russia placed advocate Peter III on the throne and Russia withdrew from the war. Although Frederick did not gain territory, the ensuing treaty allowed him to retain Silesia and made him popular throughout the many German-speaking territories. Prussia became one of the preeminent powers in Europe.

Domestically, Frederick reformed the military and government, established religious tolerance and granted a basic form of freedom of the press. He bolstered the legal system and established the first German code of law. Of all things, Frederick the Great, as he became to be known, left a legacy of devotion to Germany that set the example for leaders into the 20th century.

King Frederick II of Prussia

King Phillip II of Spain(1556-1598)

King Philip II of Spain, also known as Philip the Prudent, ruled one of the world's largest empires. His reign as Spain's king began the Golden Age, a period of great cultural growth in literature, music and the visual arts. He was also the King of England through his marriage to Mary Tudor for four years. The Philippines, a former Spanish colony, are named after him.

Philip spent the early years of his reign in the Netherlands. With the increasing strength of the bureaucracy, Philip’s own authority was confronted by the multiple restrictions implemented by the constitution. Spain was essentially a federation of separate lands, the local governments of which were known to give priority to self-interest over royal directives.

Philip inherited a debt of about 36 million ducats and an annual deficit of 1 million ducats from his father, which over the course of his reign resulted in five different state bankruptcies in 1557, 1560, 1569, 1575, and 1596. According to some historians, Spain maintaining a huge empire, spending a large amount of the revenues on overseas expeditions, and undertaking multiple expensive domestic projects would end up contributing to its decline within the next hundred years or so.

It was just not his religious fervour that decided his foreign policies; dynastic politics played an equal role too. He made strengthening the

Catholic faith his life’s mission and the principal objective of his reign and led a brutal fight against heresy. The Inquisition was a powerful tool in his

hand that helped curb religious freedom in the empire.

King Phillip II of Spain

King Louis XIV of France(1643-1715)

Upon assuming full responsibility for the kingdom, Louis XIV quickly set about reforming France according to his own vision.

His first goal was to centralize and rein in control of France. With the help of his finance minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Louis XIV established reforms that cut France's deficit and promoted industrial growth. During his reign, Louis XIV managed to improve France's disorganized system of taxation and limit formerly haphazard borrowing practices. He also conveniently declared members of nobility exempt from paying taxes, causing them to become even more fiscally dependent on the crown.

In implementing administrative reforms toward a more orderly and stable French government, Louis XIV forced provincial nobles to relinquish their former political influence. In so doing, he constructed a more centralized administration with the bourgeoisie, or middle class, as its foundation.

Along with his changes to the government, Louis XIV created a number of programs and institutes to infuse more of the arts into French culture. By the 1680s, Louis XIV had begun to generate public hostility, due, in part, to his efforts to establish religious uniformity throughout France. The king was a devout Catholic and orchestrated the destruction of Protestant churches and schools throughout France and forced all children to be educated and baptized as Catholics. The revocation and the new edict served to alienate Protestants, prompting many to leave France and seek religious freedom elsewhere.

King Louis XIV of France

Peter the Great of Russia(1682-1725)

During his reign, Peter undertook extensive reforms in an attempt to reestablish Russia as a great nation. Peter overcame opposition from the country's medieval aristocracy and initiated a series of changes that affected all areas of Russian life. He created a strong navy, reorganized his army according to Western standards, secularized schools, administered greater control over the reactionary Orthodox Church, and introduced new administrative and territorial divisions of the country.

Peter focused on the development of science and recruited several experts to educate his people about technological advancements. He concentrated on developing commerce and industry and created a gentrified bourgeoisie population. Mirroring Western culture, he modernized the Russian alphabet, introduced the Julian calendar, and established the first Russian newspaper.

Peter was a far-sighted and skillful diplomat who abolished Russia's archaic form of government and appointed a viable Senate, which regulated all branches of administration, as well as making, groundbreaking accomplishments in Russia's foreign policy. Under Peter's rule, Russia became a great European nation. In 1721, he proclaimed Russia an empire and was accorded the title of Emperor of All Russia, Great Father of the Fatherland, and "the Great." Although he proved to be an effective leader, Peter was also known to be cruel and tyrannical. The high taxes that often accompanied his various reforms led to revolts among citizens, which were immediately suppressed by the imposing ruler. Peter, a daunting 6 1/2 feet tall, was a handsome man who drank excessively and harbored violent tendencies.

Peter married twice and had 11 children, many of whom died in infancy. The eldest son from his first marriage, Alexis, was convicted of high treason by his father and secretly executed in 1718. Peter the Great died on February 8, 1725, without nominating an heir. He is entombed in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, located in in St. Petersburg.

Peter the Great of Russia

Frederick III of Norway(1648-1670)

Frederik III became heir to the throne when his father Christian died, taking charge of a state ravaged by financial crisis. To secure financial contributions from the nobility he had to sign a coronation charter more severe than any previous Danish king had signed.

Eventually Frederick managed to reduce the influence of the leading noblemen. The king and his court were eager to retaliate against Sweden and when Karl X Gustav of Sweden went to war against Poland in 1655, they thought their chance had come. The result was a new defeat for Denmark-Norway. In the so-called war of retaliation the Swedes besieged Copenhagen. Frederick escaped, thanks only to the whole-hearted support of the citizenry.

At a legislative meeting in Copenhagen in 1660 Frederick, backed by the citizenry and the clergy, forced the assembly to make two changes: withdrawal of the strict terms of the coronation charter and the introduction of primogeniture for royal succession. The king appointed a committee with representatives from these two groups as well as the nobility to discuss the new constitution. However, the representatives of the different classes were unable to agree on a new constitution. Taking advantage of this situation, Frederick consolidated full control of the government. In Denmark as well as in Norway, representatives of the nobility, the citizenry and the clergy now had to sign a declaration of loyalty to an autocratic ruler.

The state administration was now turned over to a collegium board while local administration was run by civil servants appointed by the king rather than, as before, by the powerful feudal lords. Frederick managed to straighten out the state’s finances by selling large quantities of crown lands in Denmark and Norway. The king died in Copenhagen Palace in 1670

King Frederick II of Norway

Catherine II of Russia(1762-1796)

While Catherine believed in total control of government, she made some efforts toward social and political reforms. She put together a

document, known as the "Nakaz," on how the country's legal system should run, with a push for capital punishment and torture to be outlawed and calling for every man to be declared equal. Catherine had also sought to address the dire situation of country's serfs, workers who were owned by landowners for life. The Senate protested any suggestion of changing the feudal system.

After finalizing the Nakaz, Catherine brought delegates together from different social and economic classes to form the Legislative Commission, which met for the first time in 1767. No laws came out of the commission, but it was the first time that Russians from across the empire had been able to express their thoughts about the country's needs and problems. Ultimately, the Nakaz became more known for its ideas rather than its immediate influence.

At the time of Catherine's accession, Russia was viewed as backward and provincial by many in Europe. She sought to change this negative opinion through expanding educational opportunities and the arts. Catherine had a boarding school established for girls from noble families in St. Petersburg, and later called for free schools to be created in towns across Russia.

Catherine was devoted to the arts, and sponsored many cultural projects. In St. Petersburg, she had a theater built for opera and ballet performances—and even wrote a few librettos herself. She also became a prominent art collector, and many of these were displayed in the Hermitage in a royal residence in St. Petersburg.

An avid reader, Catherine was especially fond of the philosophers and writers of the Enlightenment. She exchanged letters with the French writer Voltaire, and writer Denis Diderot came to Russia to visit with her. In fact, Diderot was the one who gave Cathering her nickname, "Catherine the Great." With literary aspirations of her own, Catherine also wrote about her life in a collection of memoirs.

Catherine II of Russia(1762-1796)

Maria Theresa/ Joseph II of Austria(1740-1780)

Future Holy Roman emperor Joseph II was born in Vienna, Austria, on March 13, 1741. He became co-regent with his mother, Maria Theresa, in 1765, and sole ruler in 1780. During his time in power, Joseph issued decrees that promoted equality and education, but the speed and scope of his reforms led to problems for him and his empire.

With his father's death, Joseph also became his mother's co-regent, and took over the handling of the army and foreign affairs. In foreign matters, Joseph's attempt to exchange part of the Austrian Netherlands for Bavaria was undermined by Frederick II of Prussia.

Although Joseph was co-regent, Maria Theresa maintained control of the empire. His mother made some changes that Joseph supported, such as an expansion of elementary education in the 1770s. But Maria Theresa objected to the idea of religious tolerance and refused to institute reforms that Joseph, a disciple of the Enlightenment, desperately wanted.

When Maria Theresa died in 1780, Joseph became the absolute ruler of the Habsburg domains and enacted many reforms that his mother had refused to consider. During his reign, Joseph put forth an average of 690 decrees a year. (Maria Theresa had made fewer than 100 each year.) Joseph's reforms included abolishing serfdom, ending press censorship and limiting the power of the Catholic Church. And with his Edict of Toleration, Joseph gave minority religions, such as Protestants, Greek Orthodox and Jews, the ability to live and worship more freely.

Joseph was considered an "enlightened despot," and his reforms were open-minded, to a point. However, Joseph's main aim was to make the empire more efficient and financially secure. Believing that he was doing what was right and necessary, Joseph did not bother to smooth the way with nobles or clergy who felt threatened by his changes.

Joseph died believing that his reforms had weakened his empire instead of strengthening it. However, his support for ideals like religious tolerance led to lasting changes in Europe, and he paved the way for the complete abolition of feudalism in 1848. Although Joseph felt he had been a failure, history would show he did make a difference.

Joseph II(1760-1790)

Maria Theresa of Austria(1740-1780)