Western Rulers

          Throughout Western History there have been many rulers who have shaped the way curtain states are run. Some rulers, such as James I of England, Louis XIV of France, Frederick William (elector of Brandenburg), William III of Orange state-holder of the Netherlands, and Peter the Great of Russia actually formed these states. Without these people, Western History as we know it might have turned out completely different.

            James I came to throne in England, having already been king in Scotland for 36 years. He tried to create a full governmental union, but he failed. He attempted to summon Parliament several times, once to create a “great Contract” that would require Parliament to pay a regular income to help meet government costs, his way of trying to settle royal finances. But this too failed, mostly because he felt a false security in this, believing he can spend as much as he’d like.  He decided to make money by selling government offices and positions, taking it to extremes by not actually selling it to someone who can run the office, but merely someone who can afford it. James was a man of great ideas but he was just too lazy to carry them out.

            Louis XIV was different than James I in that he wanted to rule alone, with no help from anyone. His rule became known as absolutism. He stabilized France during his reign and it became the ideal culture. Some refer to him as the ideal king because he done what many kings tried to do for centuries, making French cultures the best in the world.

            Frederick Williams adopted Louis’ absolutist idea during his reign, even though he didn’t like the French court. Williams restored Hohenzollern after being destroyed during the Thirty Years’ war. This led to the foundation of a Prussian monarchy. His son succeeded him, continuing his reign the way he started it.

            William III of Orange was first highly recognized when he stopped Louis XIV’s troops from invading the Dutch Republic. This began a lifelong rivalry between the two. He became the Dutch ruler and was soon asked by a group of suspicious Protestants to invade England in an attempt to take down James II. James fled and little blood was shed. William was then offered the throne by parliament, along with his wife Mary. They passed a “Bill of Rights” that gave Parliament shared power over the army and taxes. During this time constitutionalism overtook absolutism.

            Peter the Great continued to use absolutism as he brought Russia to great power. He was very good at raising his army and created an army of 200,000 men. He was very disliked but his power scared people from defying him. He built St. Petersburg to show that Russia was opening to the west. He wanted it to be viewed as the break from Russia’s past but regardless of how hard he tried, after his death his succession didn’t continue.

Colonization of the Americas

         The Europeans colonized the American continents in 1492. It is said that Christopher Columbus founded America during a Spanish expedition that started out sailing to India for trade, though many people were in and out of America long before he showed up. Europeans couldn’t help their curiosity and soon a new age began, the Age of Discovery, and colonization began. Spain, England, France, and Germans all sent explorers to this mystery land. It didn’t take long for them to have control over the entire western hemisphere.  Spanish Conquistadors, whom were given the right to conquer the new world, attacked and soon defeated large Indian colonies, like the Incas and the Aztecs.

            As the contact between the Old World and the New World grew, the Columbian Exchange, or the Grand Exchange, began. This was a transfer of plants, animals, foods, slaves, culture, and even disease between the eastern and the western hemisphere. The significance this made in the western civilization was huge. Not only did this New World provide tobacco, potatoes, cotton, and corn, for Europe, but this exchange also brought foreign disease, like smallpox, influenza, syphilis, and malaria, to the Americas, which began killing off the Natives. Europeans had to bring in African slaves soon after because their native slaves were all dying. This exchange changed all civilizations.

            America soon became the land of the supposed riches. The Jamestown colony was established in the hope that the land would provide them with gold. They eventually realized there was nothing there but that didn’t stop other explorers from looking for the wealth. The only thing really established from all of this was the first permanent settlements of the modern day.

            After everything had settled down, people began escaping to the new world for religious freedom. Disagreements and tension in Europe grew as they began drifting away from their Orthodox ways. The freedom of a new land was tantalizing to these settlers and with the help of charters they were allowed to settle and live the way they saw best fit. This was the real beginning of the New World.