The woman who was to become Catherine the Great was born Sophie Augusta Fredericka. During her teen years Sophie blossomed into a beautiful young woman and had excellent health. She later went on to marry Peter III the future emperor and grandson of Peter the Great. During her reign as empress Catherine encountered many conflicts, which she surpassed so successfully that even now so many years after her death she is still remembered. Even though she was known to have many lovers during her lifetime and had three illegitimate children two of who survived, her strong spirit, willingness to make Russia a better place, and her political victories made her one of the greatest empress ever.
Throughout her reign as empress Catherine’s strong spirit helps her to cope with all the troubles that arise. Catherine was greatly criticized by Elizabeth for not being able to bear children. The empress said, “ that it was because of her that her marriage had not yet been consummated.'; (Troyat 57). But what Elizabeth didn’t know was that the fault was Peter’s who did not consummate the marriage or have the operation, which he needed to reverse his problem. Yet throughout the criticism Catherine kept a stiff upper lip and did not say anything. The empress was cruel to Catherine and yet she continued to be nice and obey the empress. Catherine began to have less freedom and was isolated by Elizabeth slowly everyone that she knew were sent away. The empress dismissed “ one of Catherine’s maids, Maria Zhukova, whose only crime was that she had been completely devoted to her mistress. Shortly after Catherine’s first chamberlain, Zahar was also dismissed.'; (Troyat 56). Catherine was also “forbidden to write to anyone without going through the College of Foreign Affairs.'; (Troyat 59). The empress continued to make life hard for Catherine by not even letting Catherine hold her child after birth or allow her to see him. Catherine said, “ my sprit was too proud, and the very idea of being unfortunate was unbearable to me.'; ( Troyat 90). She avoided asking to see her son because she knew that it was to be like this.
Catherine wanted to change Russia and make it a better place for people to live. Firstly, she thought that education was...
... middle of paper ...
... strong and never let Elizabeth get to her despite the empress countless ways of blaming her. She shows just what a strong spirit she had when Elizabeth would not even let her see her children after she had just been through agonizing labor. Once Catherine was declared empress she tried her best to give Russia a whole bunch of opportunity to better itself. She built new schools, founded medical colleges, and helped landowners to get new skills that other well-respected countries had. She only wanted what was best for her country. She was totally devoted to them and doing what they wanted. During her reign she acquired pieces of Poland, which made their empire even stronger. Considering what she went through she continued to restore Russia to the great country she knew it could be. European countries actually began to consider Russia a top country and all these factors contribute to why she was so great.
Bibliography
Alexander, John T. Catherine the Great. New York: Oxford Press, 1989.
Troyat, Henri. Catherine the Great. France: Flammarion, 1980.
Erickson, Carolly. Great Catherine. New York: Crown Publishers, 1994.
Ransel, David. The Politics of Catherine. Russia: New Haven, 1975
They still were going to have an absolute power but it was going to be in a different way. I think that Catherine was really trying to make the monarch look like a better person so that she would be well respected with certain laws or decisions that she would make. The reason behind her enlightened views may not be known, but I feel that she wanted to have more territory to rule over and knew she needed to gain support in order to take over a larger area. Overall, I think Catherine the Great was a wonderful ruler. She knew she was in charge and seemed to try to please everyone. Even though she may not have succeeded in doing that, she did come up with laws such as human torture should be abolished, no man should be looked at as guilty before he has a sentence, and the society should be a fixed order. Knowing what her role was and coming up with laws that benefited the society definitely showed that Catherine II did earn to be called “Catherine the
The story of Princess Ka’iulani is remembered as a tragic one, she passed away young and frail, and never was able to fulfill her duties as Hawaii’s next ruling queen. What many people have never known, is the warrior that hid behind her beautiful physique. She was a fighter; for her country, people, and the truth. Within her short 23 years, Princess Kaiulani became Hawaii's last hope to save the monarchy that had existed for so long. Sadly, she did not accomplish this feat, and her heroism and efforts have either been overlooked or forgotten. To be knowledgeable of her childhood, teenage life, and final years is the least that can be done out of respect for this great Hawaiian Princess.
Catherine II, or more commonly known as Catherine the Great, reigned over Russia with the ideas of Enlightenment. These ideas are best seen in her attempt at a new law code, the Nakaz. From reading the Nakaz, someone can see that Catherine saw the Enlightenment ideas of natural law, freedom, and liberty as the most important. The new law code was created not only to enforce the enlightenment ideas, but also to have a more concise law code for the people of Russia. Catherine argued that a trend towards Enlightenment of government would help connect Russia with the West. The creation of the Nakaz served as a way for Catherine to try and incorporate an enlightened view into her ruling.
Isabel de Madariaga was considered an expert on Russian history, she was Professor Emeritus of Slavonic Studies at the University of London. Catherine the Great: a Short
Catherine the Great, one of Russia's most notorious leaders, never once struggled to give Russia the edge it so hoped for. She considered herself to be an enlightened leader and attempted to rule in that fashion. Her reforms transformed Russia into a strong nation for their time. She’s remembered as the greatest reformer of Russia, she continued to westernize Russia, widened the borders, and strengthened the education system. Catherine the Great proceeded to finish what Peter the Great started; she made sure that by the end of her reign Russia was westernized.
Peter I and Catherine II provided Russia with both successes and failures, advancements and setbacks. The Russian tsars were very much involved in each area of political, social,
Although the ‘Legend’ of the Wicked Italian Queen is limited by its personal malicious nature, it is credible in its demonstration of Catherine’s ambition f...
Peter the Great, was, as his name implies, “great”. He made many accomplishments during his lifetime including expanding Russia’s land, heightening their military, and improving the Russian’s ways of life overall. He assisted with most of the reform in Russia, helped them defeat other countries, and formulated one of the strongest armies in Europe.
Marie Antoinette wrongfully suffered for many years under the pressures of court and the subjects under the crown. She redeemed herself from the immature spending and luxury of her earlier years by serving as a loving wife, mother and ruler later on. Despite her situation, she remained a fair, brave and respectable queen and should be remembered for her courageous acts in a time of revolutionary change.
Queen Elizabeth I, also known as the “Iron Queen”, was a remarkable woman of her time, she ruled with great power and longevity. She was one of the greatest feminist of time. Coming to the throne in 1558, she took the place of her father, Henry VIII. She was given one of the most difficult jobs fit for a man or King, ruling England. At the time women were second class citizens, they could not vote nor own properties and such. Surprising England with her intelligence and fierce rulings, she changed herself to make better decisions. She proved through her rulings, to everyone that females were strong and could rule just as well as a king. She refused to marry, giving a feeling of “I don’t need a man for anything.” The Queen was responsible for giving females a voice in literature and it is shown through Shakespeare’s writings.
By the time Elizabeth was ten years old, Henry her father had married and divorced three wives in succession. The last wife, Catherine Parr, persuaded him to reinstate Elizabeth’s right as an heir and bring her back to Court. Here, she can shared her younger half-brother’s tutors and received a outstanding education. Now Elizabeth had motivation to be more determined about her future. Sadly, she also had reason to dwell on the prior execution of her third stepmother, K...
Victoria was born in 1819 at Kensington Palace, London. Her father was Edward the Duke of Kent and her mother was Victoria Maria Louisa of Saxe-Coburg. After Victoria’s birth Edward father died and then she became the heir to the throne. Since her three uncles had no legitimate children that would be able to be in line for the thrown. She is the longest reigning monarch in England and some may argue that last strongest monarch of England but also she was a head champion in reforms in education welfare and industry as well as the arts and sciences. She truly redefined the definition of a queen and England and the world would be a different way without her.
At age 15 she had studied the topics of mathematics, literature, medicine, and physics. She wanted to excel mainly in literature and mathematics and pursue college career. But ever since 1863, Russian universities had been closed to women. If you were an unmarried Russian woman at this time, you were not allowed to travel freely. Sonya wanted to study mathematics abroad, but her father would not let her. His extent was to allow her to study calculus under a private tutor at the naval school of St.
The Book Catherine of Aragon written by Garrett Mattingly is about the life of Catherine of Aragon, the princess of Spain during the late 1400’s and early 1500’s. The book begins with Catherine’s life as a small child, before she became Queen. The first section of the book talks of Catherine’s upbringing as a princess and includes details on the duties of her and her siblings. A good example of this is described on page 17 as it shows how Catherine and her sisters had to be educated on their bloodline, heraldry and genealogy as well as dancing, cooking, and horsemanship which were the interests of her class) .
Queen Elizabeth the first was one of the first woman monarchs to rule alone in the history of Europe. Her character, the way she ruled, and even her gender transformed her country’s go...