PEOPLE OF ACTION

THE RENAISSANCE AND REFORMATION
(1400 to Mid-1600s)

Pope Martin V (1417-1431) Francesco Sforza ( -1466) Cosimo de Medici (1389-1464) Florentine banker and politician.  The Academy of Florence was founded in the second half of the 1400s by the financial support of Cosimo de Medici (the Academy  involved a very distinct Neo-Platonist departure from the scholastic universities).  He also spent vast sums of money collecting manuscripts and building libraries to house them. Lorenzo de Medici (1449-1492) "Lorenzo the Magnificent"

Prince Henry ("the Navigator") of Portugal (1394-1460) John II of Portugal (1481-1495) Afonso de Albuqerque 1453-1515.  Builder of Portugal's Eastern Empire. Manuel I (1495-1521) Portuguese King: 1495 to 1521   Isabella of Castile (1474-1504) 1451-1504.  Queen of Castile, 1474-1504.  Wife of Ferdinand of Aragon and joint ruler with him of Aragon, 1479-1504. Ferdinand II of Aragon (1468-1516) 1452-1516.  King of Spain, 1506-1516.  King of Aragon, 1479-1516.  Husband of Isabela and joint ruler with her of Castile, 1474-1504.  Also King of Sicily, 1468-1516 and King of Naples, 1504-1516. Charles I of Spain (Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire) (1516-1556) 1500-1558.  King of Spain, 1516-1556.  Holy Roman Emperor as Charles V, 1519-1556 Philip II (1556-1598) 1527-1598. King of Spain, 1556-1598. Husband of Mary I ("Bloody Mary"), Queen of England Margaret of Parma (1559-1567) 1522-1586. Known also as Margaret of Austria.  She was the illegitimate daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (Charles I of Spain) who married Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza (1547-1586), thus becoming Margaret of Parma. In 1559 she was appointed Regent of the Spanish Netherlands by her half-brother Philip II--at a time in which Catholic-Protestant tensions were mounting.  When her rather moderate policy of conciliation between the two factions appeared to be breaking down, Philip sent the Spanish General, the Duke of Alba, to suppress the Protestants and to restore the Netherlands to a fully Catholic order.   Alba's subsequent assumption of dictatorial powers led her to resign her position in 1567. In 1580 she returned to the Spanish Netherlands to head up the civil government--under her son, Alexander Farnese of Parma, governor-general of the Spanish Netherlands.  Relations between mother and son however proved not to be smooth and in 1583 she retired to Italy. Fernando Alvarez, Duke of Alva (or Alba) (1567-1573) 1507-1582. Governor-General of the Spanish Netherlands, 1567-1573. Alexander Farnese of Parma (1578-1592) Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, 1578-1592. He was born of an influential Italian military family (his mother was Margaret of Parma, regent of the Spanish Netherlands) and took up soldiering, distinguishing himself early:  against the Turks at Lepanto (1571) and in various battles against the Protestants in the Spanish Netherlands.  He rose quickly in influence within the Habsburg court and in 1578 was given the governorship of the Netherlands. He proved to be a capable Catholic adversary against the Protestant leader, William of Orange.  He succeeded in holding the southern provinces for Roman Catholicism and in crushing Protestantism in the key southern cities of Maastricht, Tournai, Brussels, Ypres, Ghent, Bruges and most importantly, Antwerp (together constituting today's Belgium). Philip III (1598-1621) Philip was only twenty when he came to the Spainish throne upon his father's death.  But he lacked the strong qualities of his father, including his father's disciplined intelligence--and was noted more for his laziness and pleaure-seeking ways. During his 23-year rule, Spain began its rapid political and economic decline. Francisco Gomes de Sandoval y Rojas, Duke of Lerma (1598-1618) Born in 1552; died in 1621. Chief minister under Philip III--and considered to have been the real ruler of Spain until his political downfall in 1618. Philip II had borrowed against all the future tax revenues of the Spanish monarchy in order to pursue his aggressive military policy as defender of the Catholic faith throughout Europe.  Thus as Philip III's first minister (beginning in 1598), Lerma had to tackle the matter of repaying huge debts in such a way as to leave revenue for the monarchy.  He did this by debasing the currency--which had the unfortunate side effect of chasing silver out of Spain.   But he did put an end to Spain's ceaseless warring policies, which helped somewhat to relieve economic pressures on Spain. But perhaps Lerma is best remembered for his move to expell the Moriscos (Muslims forced into conversion to Christianity) from Spain.  He (and much of Catholic Spain at that time) considered the Moriscos to be potential support for Spain's hated enemy, the Turks.  Thus in 1609, under Lerma's orders, the remaining 300,000 Moriscos in Spain were shipped off to Morocco--impoverishing the Moriscos, but also draining Spain of some of its most capable entrepreneurship.  Indeed the loss of the Moriscos brought economic collapse to parts of Spain. Philip IV (1621-1665) Gaspar de Guzman, Count-Duke of Olivares (1621-1643) Olivares was born in Rome in 1587 to Spanish nobility.  Philip III appointed him as part of the household of his son, Philip IV.  When Philip IV came to the throne in 1621, Olivares became Spain's first minister. As such he worked hard to try to bring sound management back to the Spanish empire.  Spain was undergoing obvious rapid political and economic decline. Olivares pursued an aggressive foreign policy designed to promote the Roman Catholic interests of the Spanish throne during the religious wars.  He also tried to get the rest of the Spanish dominions to contribute to the costs of maintaining the Spanish government--in the hopes of relieving Castile of the ruinous financial burden that had been long laid at its feet.  But this tended only to make the provinces, such as Portugal and Catalonia, all the more desirous of breaking free of their ties to the Spanish monarchy. The revolt of those two provinces in 1640 were the ultimate cause of his fall from power in 1643.  He lived in constant fear of arrest by his political opponents, but died a natural death in 1645.

Frederick III (1440-1493) Maximilian I (1493-1519) Charles V (1519-1556) 1500-1558.  Also King of Spain as Charles I Ferdinand I (1558-1564) 1503-1564.  King of Bohemia and Hungary, 1526-1564.  Emperor, 1558-1564.  Brother of Charles V

Joan of Arc (1429-1431)  Joan of Arc was a girl of only 13 when she first heard the voices that would call her to save France from disintegration.  For four years she quietly listened to these voices--until they became most insistent that she act immediately.  By the beginning of 1429 not only was France widely overrun by the English, but Charles, the Dauphin of France (heir to the French throne), was rapidly losing authority within even the portion of France that remained his. Her reception by French authorities was about what she expected--total rejection.  But she knew the voices were serious, so she persisted.  With the help of some "signs" from the same voices, she was finally able to convince Charles of the legitimacy of her call.  Finally in April of 1429, given command of a French army she quickly rounted the English army besieging Orl?ans, chased the English out of the Loire valley and by July had delivered Reims from the English so that Charles could be crowned king (Charles VII) in this traditional coronation site. But now events began to move against her.  She continued to try to rout the English from France--even though Charles himself seemed to have little appetite for such doings.  When in September she moved against the English in Paris she was wounded and the effort failed.  Meanwhile Charles made a truce with his enemies (and England's ally) the Burgundians.  But the next spring (1430) she took up arms again--only to be captured by the Burgundians in an effort to rally the French at Compi?gne against an English-Burgundian assault on that town.  She was sold by her captor to the English. She was then turned over to a French ecclesiastical court (with strong pro-English sentiments) in Rouen to be tried as a witch.  After a lengthy trial she was found guilty of sorcery and heresy and sentenced to death.  On May 30, 1431  she was burned at the stake as a witch. Almost immediately it was recognized that rather than being a witch she had been in fact a true agent of God.  Over the centuries her popularity grew until in 1920 she was canonized as a saint by Pope Benedict XV. For more information on Joan of Arc Charles VII (1422-1461) Louis XI (1461-1483) Charles VIII (1483-1498) Louis XII (1498-1515) François (Francis) I (1515-1547) 1494-1547. Henry II (1547-1559) Catherine de Médicis (1559-1589) 1518-1589.  Virtual ruler of France, 1559-1589.   Queen of Henry II.  Mother of Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III. Attempted the destruction of all Protestant Huguenots in France with the Massacre of St. Bartholomew in 1572 (which included the murder of her political nemesis, Admiral Coligny). Francis Duke of Guise (1559-1563) Admiral Coligny ( -1572) Henry Duke of Guise ( -1588) Leader of the radical Catholic party (the Holy League).  Murdered by Henri III at Blois in 1588. Henry III ( 1574-1589) French king whose rule was dominated by the control of his mother, Catherine de M?dicis.  His attempts to work a compromise between the religious factions and the dominant political families (the Guises and the Colignys) was continually undone by his mother's strongly pro-Catholic intrigues. He was a relatively frail individual with no heirs--and eventually saw the difficulties that the end of his reign would bring on France.  He thus maneuvered to swing support behind the legitimate heir to the throne, Henry Bourbon of Navarre--a leader of the Protestant Huguenot party.  To open the way to this succession he had two of the leaders of the Guise family murdered in 1588.  This was to cause him the extreme hatred of the Catholic party.  He was assassinated in 1589 by a fanatic monk. Henry IV of Navarre (Bourbon) (1589-1610) Henry IV of Navarre (Bourbon). 1553-1610.   King of France, 1589-1610. Early in his career he was a major leader of the Protestant Huguenot party.  For three years after his accession to the throne of France in 1589, the strongly pro-Catholic Paris stood in opposition to him.  Finally Henry yielded to these stronger political interests by converting to Catholicism, claiming that Paris was worth a mass.   He also divorced his first wife and married Marie de Medicis--to further secure his political hold over France. His rule was directed toward enforced tolerance between Catholics and Protestants.  This gave France a much-needed period of peace.  It also added strength and dignity to the French monarchy. Henry was assassinated in 1610. Sully (Maximilien de Bethune) (1589-1610) Marie de Médicis (1610-1617)  Wife of Henry IV and Queen Regent of France after his death in 1617--and until Louis XIII was old enough to assume rule (1617).  During her regency Cardinal Richelieu was brought to prominence in French politics. Louis XIII (1617-1643) Cardinal Richelieu (Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu) (1614-1642) 1585-1642.

Henry IV (1399-1413) Henry V (1413-1422) Henry VI (1422-1461 / 1470-1471) Edward IV (1461-1470 / 1471-1483) Edward V (1483) Richard III (1483-1485) Henry VII Tudor (1485-1509) 1457-1509. Henry VIII (1509-1547) 1491-1547. Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (1503?-1529) 1473-1530.  He came to public prominence as chaplain to Henry VII in the early 1500s.  With Henry VII's death in 1509 Wolsey was appointed to the staff of the young King Henry VIII.  By 1511 he was one of the most important of Henry's counselors. Thomas Cromwell (1530-1540) 1485-1540. Early on in his life, Cromwell was a bit of an adventurer, then became a lawyer, was profitably involved in trade, and eventually became a member of Parliament (1523).  He served as legal counsel to the nobility and in 1525 was brought into service as a lawyer by Cardinal Wolsey.  He quickly rose in the Cardinal's favor because of his sharp legal mind. When his political mentor Wolsey fell from power in 1529, Cromwell maneuvered to save himself from destruction by returning to Parliament and there giving support to King Henry.  Finally in 1530 he was brought into Henry's service--working his way up in importance until in 1536 he became Lord Privy Seal (main advisor to the King). Actually, by 1532 he was already directing key elements of royal policy--especially in the matter of the King's relations with Rome.  It was Cromwell who pushed the idea of the King's sovereign power in England even in ecclesiastical matters--literally excluding the Pope from any further involvement in England's religious affairs (the Act of Supremacy, 1533).  Likewise he was the one who pushed for an end of traditional monetary support of the Roman Curia. In 1535 he began the policy of putting the English monasteries under Royal scrutiny for possible abuses, of using such abuses then as the rationale for confiscating the enormous wealth of various monasteries, and of closing them down and selling the land to wealthy Englishmen (merchants and traders) who had hopes of becoming landed gentry and thus part of a new nobility.  From 1537 to 1540 this process continued to move forward until the monastic wealth of all England was entirely confiscated and all the monasteries shut down and sold. So influential was he in shaping the political independence of the English crown that in many respects by 1533 he was directing the political affairs of the nation--a dangerous position in which to find oneself.  He created numerous enemies--especially of the older nobility who resented his having created a whole new nobility that was wealthier and more powerful than they. Cromwell also had an eye on religious developments within England.  This was the time of the outbreak of the Protestant Reformation--and Cromwell, who seemed not to have strong preferments on the subject personally, nonetheless tended to maneuver the monarchy in the Protestant direction because he felt that it strengthened Henry's position.  Nonetheless his cool strategizing did not sit well with the King who had strong Catholic instincts--even though they clearly contradicted everything he did and stood for.  When in 1539 Cromwell attempted to consummate a political alliance with the Lutheran princes of Germany, the king balked.  Cromwell's enemies saw their opportunity to undermine his position by drawing the King into the signing of the Six Articles, which made Protestantism a defacto crime. Cromwell then maneuvered to restore his policy and his personal position in the court in that same year by convincing the King to accept (sight-unseen) a Protestant noblewoman from Flanders, Anne of Cleves as his fourth wife.  When Henry, who placed much greater emphasis on the allure of the feminine sex than did Cromwell, realized that Cromwell had married him off to a woman of no beauty at all, he exploded.  Besides, by early 1540 it was apparent that the political alliance Cromwell had hoped for was proving to be worthless. Thus Cromwell's career came to an end.  In mid 1540 he was charged with a number of counts of heresy and treason, was offered no trial and a month later was beheaded. With the end of Cromwell, Henry's policies grew confused and chaotic.  Indeed, Henry soon regretted his hasty execution of Cromwell.  Cromwell had clearly undergirded the monarchy with prerogatives and powers it had never enjoyed during the middle ages.  He had been a key player in developing the "modern" English monarchy and state. Edward VI (1547-1553) Somerset (Edward Seymour) During the brief reign of Henry's young son, Edward VI, effective power was first held by the Duke of Somerset, who plotted a  tolerant middle course between Catholicism and Protestantism.  But Somerset could not hold the hostile parties to peace--and lost his position, and soon thereafter his life. John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland (Warwick) Regent - 1547 to 1553 Somerset's place was taken by Warwick (Northumberland) who pursued a more aggressive pro-Protestant policy.  But he overplayed his hand--and at the death of young Edward VI, Northumberland himself lost his own life. Archbishop Cranmer (1533-1556) First Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury, 1533-1556. Mary I (1553-1558) 1516-1558.  Daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Wife of Philip II of Spain, As a child, Mary was pledged in marriage to various ruling figures of the day according to the shift in  political opportunity.  At one point she was pledged to her cousin Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Spanish King--and then later to the son of Francis I of France, and even at one point to Francis himself.  But when her father divorced her mother, Catherine of Aragon, in order to marry Anne Boleyn, her father placed upon Mary the status of "illegitimate" child.  She suffered tremendously, fearing death at the hands of Anne Boleyn, until Anne herself came under the same hand by Henry. Mary looked to her cousin Charles and to the pope to protect her.  Her religious loyalties consequently became a paramount matter for her.  She was devoutly Roman Catholic. When she came to the throne upon her half-brother Edward's death, she tried to restore the Catholic church in England--at least politically, if not economically.  But the Pope would not cooperate with her unless she pledged to return the Church's lands--which she could not do. To secure her position, and that of the Catholic church, she married Philip II, son of her cousin Charles, who was in line soon to inherit rule over all-powerful Spain.  This threatened to bring England into the Spanish Hapsburg holdings as a mere province.  Furthermore, when this marriage began to drag England unwillingly into some of Philip's European wars, many of the English became outraged. Then Mary made a move to kill off the most influential of her Protestant opponents at home, such as Thomas Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer (and several hundred others)--earning her the title "Bloody Mary."  She also attempted to undermine the industrial and commercial wealth of the new nobility by placing various restrictions on their operations.  She cowed the Protestants--but at the same time heightened their sense of outrage against Catholicism. Never a very healthy person, Mary died of a disease after only a quite short rule of five years. Elizabeth I (1558-1603) 1533-1603.  Daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. William Cecil William Cecil, Lord Burghley Walter Raleigh 1552- . Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots ( -1587) James I Stuart (1603-1625) Charles I (1625-1649) Beheaded in January of 1649. George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham Royal counselor or adviser, first to James I and then to Charles I. Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford ( -1641) Royal Adviser - 1628-1641 William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury (1633-1645) Archbishop Laud attempted to rebuild the hierarchical church--working closely with royal authority to relocated power at England's traditional political center of monarchical and episcopalian (bishop) authority. In this he was fiercely opposed by the democratic-minded Puritans--who viewed Laud's reforms as a return to Catholic popery. Laud used his position to attack the Puritans--even cruelly at times. He tried to crush Presbyterianism (close cousin to Puritanism) in Scotland--starting up the "Bishops' Wars."  He tried to eliminate the most radical of the Puritan leaders, such as William Prynne--whom he mutilated and brought to trial for treason.  But the net effect was to distance himself from the English people that he had hoped to win back to more "traditional" church ways. Laud's efforts backfired and in 1640 he found himself arrested by Parliament and led off to the Tower of London--where he remained until his trial in 1644.  He was beheaded early the following year (1645). John Pym (1585-1643)

Egmont (or Egmond), Lamoraal, graaf van 1522-1568. (Unintended) martyr in the Duch Protestant resistance against Spanish Catholic authority in the Netherlands. Originally he had been a leading Dutch nobleman and advisor for Charles, Spanish King and Holy Roman Emperor--helping direct the Habsburg victories against the French at St Quentin (1557) and Gravelines (1558) and representing the Spanish crown in the negotiations leading to the marriage of Charles's Son Philip and Mary I, Queen of England. Tensions began to arise between Egmont and Philip (now Spanish King as Philip II) over the continual loss of  local authority as the Spanish crown took direct control over Dutch political and religious affairs.  With the crown's appointment of Cardinal Granvelle as ruler of the Netherlands Egmont (along with William, Prince of Orange and Filips van Montmorency, Duke of Horn) successfully petioned for Grenvelle's removal.  But Philip still ignored Dutch protests and instituted an ever heavier hand against the Protestants in the Netherlands.  In 1565 Egmont, William and Horn subsequently withdrew from the Council of State in protest.  Nonetheless Egmont had no desire to be linked with the Protestant party--and even himself took stern action against Calvinist insurgency in Flanders. Indeed, when in 1567 Alva was commisioned by Philip to crush the Dutch Protestant rebellion against Spanish Catholic authority, Egmont refused to join the opposition party led by William of Orange.  Even when William turned to German Protestants for assistance, Egmont confirmed his loyalty to the Spanish government under Margaret of Parma. Surprisingly Egmont was arrested by Alva upon the latter's arrival in the Netherlands--and despite appeals on  his behalf by other noblemen, Egmont was beheaded in 1568 as a traitor to the Spanish cause.  He thus became a widely acclained martyr in the cause of religious and political freedom for the Netherlands. Horn (or Hoorne), Filips van Montmorency, graaf van (1546-1568) 1524-1568. William I of Orange ("the Silent") (1565-1584) 1533-1584. Leader of the Dutch Protestant Cause against Philip II royal absolutism and the Duke of Alva's predatory military efforts to restore the Netherlands fully to Catholicism. Maurice of Orange (1584-1625) Frederick Henry of Orange (1625-1647) NORTHERN GERMANY AND SCANDINAVIA Jacob Fugger (1459-1525) Frederick III ("the Wise") (1486-1525) Elector of Saxony 1463-1525.  Protector of Martin Luther in the early days of his reformed movement. Christian IV of Denmark Albrecht von Wallenstein (or Waldstein) (1618-1634) 1583-1634. Bohemian General at first serving the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II during the 30 Years War--but whose unlimited amibition caused his alienation from the Emperor and his death in 1634. Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1594-1632) Axel Oxenstierna Swedish Chancellor.

Rudolph II of Bohemia (1576 -1612) 1552-1612 Holy Roman Emperor, 1576-1612. Ferdinand II (1617-1637) 1578-1637.  Holy Roman Emperor, 1620-1637.  King of Bohemia, 1617-1637.  King of Hungary, 1619-1637.   He acquired the Imperial title just as the Bohemian revolt broke out, starting the 30 Years' War.  Tilly served him ably as general until his death in 1632.  Wallenstein as a general proved to be much more difficult to direct.  Ferdinand's victory in 1635 and the Peace of Prague cost him the friendship of France. Maximilian I of Bavaria (1623 -1651) 1573-1651.  Duke of Bavaria, 1597-1651, Elector, 1623-1651). Founder and leader of the Catholic League and major supporter of Ferdinand II during the 30 Years' War.  Maximillian demanded of Ferdinand both his lands and electoral title as the price of his support.  His jealousy of Wallenstein proved to be very damaging to his own interests--and resulted in Bavaria being occupied at one point by Swedish troops.  He was one of the few participants in the War who successfully survived the struggle.

Zygmunt August (1548-1572) Stefan Batory (1576-1586) Zygmunt III Vasa (1587-1632) King of Poland, 1587-1632.  Also King of Sweden, 1594-1599.  As joint Polish-Swedish king, he dearly wanted to unite Poland with Sweden.  But he was forced down from his Swedish throne in 1599--an event he never accepted during his lifetime. In 1609 Zygmunt invaded Russia because of its weakened monarchy and because of his fear that his Swedish enemies might make a grab first for Russian power.  The ancient town of Smolensk held out against his attack for nearly two years.  In the meantime in 1610 Moscow fell to his army and his son Wladislaw was declared Russian Tsar.  But nothing lasting came of this enterprise. He was possessed of a rather dark personality--and radical Catholic interests. Wladyslaw IV (1632-1648) Son of Zygmunt III and of a quite different nature than his father:  cheerful and outgoing.  However, like his father, he too wanted to unite the thrones of Poland and Sweden--and had ambitions in Russia. Wladyslaw also enjoyed soldiering--though he was not terribly successful in this regard, in particular against the Crimean Tatars.  His position on the Baltic was not strengthened any during his rule and the Cossacks in the Ukraine in the southeast remained for him an unresolved problem in his 16 years of rule. Jan Casimir (Kazimierz) (1648-1668) Brother of Wladyslaw IV and the last of the Vasas to occupy the Polish throne. In 1668 he abdicated his throne and retired to a monastery. Jan III Sobieski (1674-1696) Jan Sobieski was elected to the throne by Polish nobles in 1674.  He was a strong ruler, rather focused on purely Polish interests (having no ambitions in Scandinavia as his predecessors had) and an able military leader.  In 1683 he headed up the coalition that drove the besieging Turks away from Vienna--a grand victory which earned him the gratitude of the pope and the Catholic world.

Ivan III ("the Great") (1462-1505) Ivan declared independence from Tatar overlordship in refusing to pay tribute to the Tatars.  He conquered Moscow's rival Russian city Novgorod and thus included along with his title, Prince of Moscow, the new title of Tsar (Caesar) of Russia. Ivan IV ("the Terrible") (1547-1584) 1530-1584.  Grandson of Ivan III.  Grand Duke of Russia at age three in 1533.  He established his own absolute authority over the Russian nobles (boyars)--though not without an incredible amount of conflict (thus his title, "the Terrible").  In concentrating Russian power in his own hands he spared Russia from the disunity and weakness that characterized her neighbors to the west (Poland and Germany--where powerful local princes blocked the rise of strong central authority). Ivan extended Russian power in Asia against the Tartars who once ruled them, subduing the Khanates of Kazan (1552) and Asktrakhan. Unfortunately Ivan's "terrible" streak was at times uncontrollable--and  in 1581 he killed his oldest son in a fit of anger. Fyodor (1584-1598) Ivan's second son, Fyodor, was of weak constitution and will.  There to fill this power vacuum was his brother-in-law, Boris Godunov.  In 1591 Fyodor's brother Dimitri was murdered--and Boris Gudunov was suspected, though no action was ever taken against Godunov. Boris Godunov (1598-1613) Michael Romanov (1613-1645 THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE Mehmet I (1413-1421) Murad II (1421-1444 / 1446-1451) Mehmet II ("the Conqueror") Conqueror of Constantinople in 1453--ending the last holdout of the Byzantine Empire.    Bayazid II Lost Baghdad to the Persians in 1508. Selim I ("the Grim") (1512-1520) Selim extended considerably the land holdings of the Ottoman Turks.  In 1514 he defeated the Persian Shah Tahmasp at the battle of Chaldiran and seized his capital of Tabriz. and Cairo in 1517. S?leyman I ("the Magnificent") (1520-1566) Defeated the Hungarians under their king Louis II at Moh?cs (south of Budapest) in 1526.  In 1529 Suleiman laid seige to Vienna.  He also retook Baghdad. Murad III (1574-95) Mehmet III (1594-1603) Cighala-zade Sinan Pasha Agha of the Janissaries.  Formerly Scipione Cicala (son of the Viscount di Cicala of Genoa)--captured by the Turks and forced into Janaissary service.  Led the Turks to success against the Austrians at Mez?-Keresztes in 1596 and at the seige of Erlau.  But he did not fare as well against the Shah Abbas and his Persian army in 1605. Ahmet I (1603 to 1617) Osman II (1618-1622) Murdered in a palace coup. Murad IV (1623-1640) Mehmed IV (1648-1687) Köprülü Mehmet Pasha (Grand Vazir: 1656-1661) Köprülü Fazil Ahmet Pasha (Grand Vazir: 1661-1676) Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha (Grand Vazir: 1676-1683)

Marco Polo (1271-1295) 1254?-1324. As a youth, he set out in 1271 with his father and uncle, merchants from Venice, on an overland trading mission to Cathay (China)--arriving there three years later.  Young Marco so impressed the Mongol Emperor of China, Kublai Khan, with his powers of observation that he was placed in the imperial service as a personal representative of the emperor, visiting and reporting back to the emperor on the state of the empire.  After 17 years of service in China, the Polos decided to return to Venice.  Along the way home they toured Persia extensively and finally arrived back in Venice in 1295. Three years later, serving as a commander of a Venetian warship, he was captured by the Genoans and held in prison for about a year.  During this idle time he had a fellow prisoner record his Asian experiences--which on his release was compiled into book form as The Book of Marco Polo.  This work, at first received as being an exaggeration, was later taken more seriously--and became the inspiration for later explorers trying to reach the fabled East. Polo's major work or writings: The Book of Marco Polo Bartholomeu Dias (c. 1450-1500) Portuguese Explorer who in 1488 was the first to sail around the southern tip of Africa at the Cape of Good Hope and point the way east to the Indies via the Indian Ocean. He was lost at sea off the Cape of Good Hope in 1500 during a naval and commercial mission to India headed by Pedro Alvares Cabral. Christopher Columbus (c. 1446-1506) Columbus made four journeys to America.  The first trip (1492-1493) he returned after creating a settlement La Navidad on the huge island he called Española.  After leaving half his crew there, he was able (through storm and political problems with the Portuguese) to return to present the King and Queen with a chest of gold items and some Indian "interpreters." The second trip (1493-1496) was undertaken with a huge fleet (17 ships and 1200 men) … but failed to find any gold, struggled with some of the Indians, and faced a huge rebellion of his men.  He left his brothers in charge and returned to Spain … with no gold. The third trip (1498-1500) was undertaken mostly to block an effort by John of Portugal to match the Spanish effort.  But Columbus found only chaos upon his arrival at Española.  News of the chaos reached back to Spain … and Francisco de Bobadilla was sent to Española to clear up the mess.  He and Columbus fought … and Bobadilla sent Columbus back to Spain in chains.   Columbus, after much pleading was then authorized to undertake a small, fourth trip (1502-1504).  But he was refused entry at Española when he arrived there.  So he moved, via Cuba and Jamaica, on to the mainland (Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama).  In Panama he discovered his gold … but also naval disaster and personal sickness.  He managed to get back to Jamaica … but waited for a year for support allowing him to make his return to Spain.  He was not received officially on his return (the Queen was dying) and only belatedly managed to receive his share of the gold profits.  He died a very sick man at age 54 (1506), largely forgotten … though his two books, Book of Privileges (1502) and Book of Prophecies (1505) would leave some kind of legacy. John Cabot (c. 1450-1498) John Cabot was an Italian explorer who came into service to English King Henry VII.  Like Colombus, he had long been conviced that Asia could be reached by sailing West.  News of Columbus' discovery encouraged Henry to take up Cabot's proposal to try to reach the East by sailing West.  Thus in 1497 Cabot set out to reach the East for the English king.  He instead encountered North America (possibly Newfoundland or Labrador), though on his return to England he affirmed that it was northeastern Asia he had encountered.  In any case he brought news of the wealth of fish and good land for settlement in the land he had encountered. The following year, this time with five ships and 200 men, Cabot set out again on the same journey West.  But the details of what then occurred are hazy.  In any case his expedition failed to return to England.  As a consequence, little of lasting value resulted from his efforts. Vasco da Gama (c. 1460-1524) Da Gama was a Portuguese explorer who first reached India in 1498 by sailing around the southern tip of Africa at the Cape of Good Hope, continuing up the eastern shores of Africa, and crossing the Indian ocean from (modern-day) Kenya to Calicut in India. He sailed for India a second time in 1502 at the head of a fleet of 20 ships that was charged with punishing the Zamorin (Muslim ruler) of Calicut for having massacred the Portuguese left behind in India by another  Portuguese explorer, Pedro Alvares Cabral.  Treaties were concluded with neighboring Hindu enemies of the Zamorin and an effort of an Arab fleet to drive away da Gama was defeated.  In early 1503 da Gama returned with his fleet to Portugal. In 1524 he was sent by King John III to be the Portuguese viceroy in India.  He established an administrative center at Goa and immediately  began the process of strengthening the Portuguese commercial position in India.  But he became sick and died before the year was out. Pedro Alvares Cabral (c. 1460-1520) Cabral was a Portuguese explorer commissioned by Manuel I to follow up on da Gama's exploration of India in 1498 and consolidate the Portuguese position in India. In March of 1500 Cabral left for India with 13 ships, but headed westward into the Atlantic to sail around the becalmed waters of Guinea--and discovered the shores of Brazil in the process.  He then headed east for the Cape of Good Hope (where he lost 4 of his ships and the fellow explorer Bartolomeu Dias). In September he arrived at Calicut and signed a commercial treaty with the Zamorin (Muslim ruler) permitting him to establish a fortified trading post at Calicut.  But disputes arose with the Muslim merchants and in December the trading post was attacked and most of the inhabitants massacred before Cabral could get a rescue party ashore from the boats offshore.  Cabral took revenge by bombarding the city and capturing 10 Muslim ships--before sailing on to Cochin where he received a friendlier reception.  Here he traded for precious spices. In early 1501 he set sail for Portugal--but disasters along the way permitted him to complete the voyage with only four of the ships he had originally started the expedition with. Despite his warm reception by the Portuguese King Manuel, it was de Gama and not Cabral who received the commission to follow up Cabral's commercial venture with an even grander expedition in 1502. Cabral retired from royal service and lived out his life quietly on his rural estates until his death in 1520. Juan Ponce de Leon (c. 1460-1521) A Spanish nobleman-soldier who was appointed governor of the eastern portion of the island of Hispañola.  Stories of gold to be found on the adjoining island (Puerto Rico) led him to explore and settle the first Spanish settlement on that island (near present-day San Juan) in 1508-1509.  He was appointed briefly as governor of that island--until political intrigue led to his removal from that position. But he was not to be pushed aside and he was soon off exploring to the north in pursuit of a story about a fountain that could restore a person's youth.  This brought him in early 1513 to the Bahamas and to Florida (which he first supposed was also an island--until he started sailing south along its coast and discovered its true extent).  He returned to Spain in 1514 and had himself confirmed by the King as Governor of Bimini and Florida.  He returned to Florida in 1521 with 200 men, with the intent of establishing a Spanish colony there.  But upon his arrival he was hit by a Seminole arrow and died soon thereafter in Cuba. Vasco Nuñez de Balboa (c. 1475-1517) Balboa was of a lesser noble family and sought his fortune in Spanish America, coming to the colony in 1500.  At first he was part of a Spanish exploration party along the Caribbean coast of modern-day Colombia; then he attempted farming (unsuccesfully) in Hispañola.  He fled from his mounting debts by returning to Colombia with a party of settlers.  This time Balboa distinguished himself as a leader by building the foundations of a lasting settlement there.  In 1511 King Ferdinand II confirmed Balboa's position by naming him governor of the entire region of Darién. Rumors of much gold to the South (undoubtedly in reference to the wealth of the Incas of Peru) led Balboa to try to form an exploration party of his own.  But court intrigue back in Spain had turned the King against him and Balboa was not only left behind, his command in Darién was given to a Spanish nobleman, Pedro Arias Dávila (known as "Pedrarias"). Not willing to await his demotion, Balboa set out across Darién and thus discovered the vast Pacific Ocean across the lower Panamanian isthmus to the West.  He claimed this South Sea for Spain--and sent news of this discovery to Spain.  Ferdinand confirmed Balboa's right of discovery by naming him governor of the South Sea--but still placed him beneath Pedrarias' authority. The rivalry of Balboa and Pedrarias was intense, though over time court opinion in Spain began to favor Balboa.  Pedrarias, realizing that his rival was gaining ascendancy, thus wooed Balboa to a supposedly friendly meeting and there arrested him and had him put to death. Ferdinand Magellan (c. 1480-1521) Magellan was born in Sabrosa of Portuguese nobility--though in his late thirties he renounced his Portuguese citizenship and came into service to the Spanish King Charles I.  It was to Charles that he announced his idea of avoiding the well- entrenched Portuguese positions along the route to the East Indies--by sailing west from Spain across the Atlantic and continuing in that direction (by-passing the Americas) until he arrived at the Indies from the East!  He received Charles' support and on September 20, 1519, he set sail from Sanlúcar de Barrameda with five ships. He crossed the Atlantic and in November arrived at modern-day Argentina, exploring the Rio de la Plata and coming ashore for the winter at Patagonia. Late the next spring he then continued southward around the storm-tossed and rocky straits off the southern tip of South America (the "Straits of Magellan")--taking 38 days to make that dangerous passage--and then headed westward across the Pacific.  He arrived at the Marianas.  He then continued on to the Philippines--arriving there in March of 1521. Ever the nobleman, he got himself involved in a political alliance with the ruler of Cebu island--and joining his Spanish forces with his ally's he launched an attack on the Mactan islanders--and was killed in the process. His fleet, or what was left of it, arrived at the Moluccas on November 6, 1521.  The sole ship to survive the entire voyage, the Victoria, commanded by Juan Sebastión del Cano, finally arrived at Seville on September 6, 1522. Hernando Cortés (1485-1547) Francisco Pizarro (c. 1470-1541) He was a Spanish explorer who, as the newly appointed governor of Spanish Peru, conquered the Incan Empire in 1533--and opened up the fabulous Incan wealth to Spanish plunder.  Two years later, in 1535, he founded Lima and made it his Peruvian capital. Sebastian Cabot (c. 1474-1557) Jacques Cartier (1491-1557) Hernando De Soto (c. 1500-1542) Francis Drake (c. 1540-1596) Henry Hudson ( -1611?)

Samuel de Champlain (1603-1635) 1567?-1635. French explorer and founder of a fortified settlement at Quebec (1608). John Smith (1607-1609) 1580?-1631. Smith was the principle organizer of the first successful English colony in North America (Virginia) at Jamestown in 1607. Smith's major works or writings: Map of Virginia with a Description of the Country (1612) The generall Historie of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles (1624) A Description of New England (1625) The True Travels, Adventures and Observations of Captaine John Smith       in Europe, Asia, Africa and America (1630). William Bradford (1621-1656) 1590-1657. One of the Separatists from the Church of England who as a "pilgrim" sailed to America from Holland in 1620 on the Mayflower--to settle the new Plymouth colony in Massachussetts.  In recognition of his excellent organizing skills he was elected Governor of the Plymouth Colony in 1621, and annually all but 5 years thereafter until 1656. Bradford's major work or writings: History of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-47 John Winthrop (1630-1649) 1588-1649. Founder of Boston and governor or deputy governor of the Massachussetts Bay Company, 1637-1649. Roger Williams (1636-1683) 1603-1683. Founder of the Providence/Rhode Island Colony in 1636--after having been expelled from the Massachussetts Bay Colony for the heresy of preaching against the close connection of the church and the Massachussets government and for his criticism of the Bay Colony's unjust treatment of the Indians. Peter Stuyvesant (1647-1664) 1592-1672. THE RENAISSANCE AND REFORMATION:  A FULL HISTORY The Renaissance (1400 - Early 1500s) Religious Reformation (Early 1500s - Mid-1600s) The Developent of the Dynastic State (Later 1500s) Go on to the next section:  The European Enlightenment            Miles H. Hodges