Machiavellian Leaders: Elizabeth I And King Henry IV Of France

Natasha Talukdar 11/1/10
Machiavellian Rulers Essay APEH 1

Machiavellian Rulers
In history, Niccolo Machiavelli is considered to be one of the most influential and powerful political theorists in the world. One of his most famous and legendary pieces entitled The Prince, stresses and describes his political ideas and beliefs. Machiavelli’s concepts have had great influence on prominent leaders that the world has ever seen. Queen Elizabeth I of England and King Henry IV of France are key examples of Machiavelli’s theory of being “cunning like a fox” and “ferocious like a lion.” These two rulers displayed the primary assertion of Machiavelli: a leader is there to make the difficult decisions for his subjects; it is not a leader’s
Elizabeth’s religious and political policies displayed her cunning characteristics of being both loved. Her use of justification by force rather than law was effective and was a main reason for her success. The Queen surrounded herself with shrewd and wise advisors but also carefully questioned the motives of her closest consultants. In Machiavellian style, Elizabeth’s religious policy fluctuated between toleration and repression according to the needs of the present time. But despite the conflicts between the Catholics and Protestants, Elizabeth still pursued a middle way between the feuding religions. In the Elizabethan Settlement, Elizabeth and Parliament required conformity in the Church of England but allowed people to worship Protestantism and Catholicism privately. In the Thirty-Nine Articles, Elizabeth defined the Anglican Church as following the Protestant doctrine but keeping the Catholic hierarchy. The Queen abolished presbytery structure and other corrupt church practices but kept a centralized figure head (monarchy). Elizabeth as well showed little mercy to anyone who threatened her rule. Religious extremists such as Puritans and Catholics were given a choice to reform or be exiled in Elizabeth’s Conventicle Act. Because of these actions, Elizabeth is also considered a politique: she put political over religious matters. Another example of Elizabeth following the Machiavellian concept is her
Prince Henry, who although was Protestant, converted to a Catholic for the good of France. Since the Bourbon Prince was Protestant and a legal heir to the French throne, it posed a problem because of France being strongly Catholic. Although there was an attempt by Henry III to grant Huguenots almost complete freedom in the Peace of Beaulieu, it fails and Henry III seeks aid from Henry of Navarre. After Henry III dies, Prince Henry of Navarre succeeds him and becomes King Henry IV. Because Spain was intervening in other matters, Henry IV became stronger in his rule. He was widely liked by France and did what was best for the country. The King put his politics and image with the French people before his religion. He converted from Calvinism to Catholicism to please the masses of France. In the Edict of Nantes, Henry made a formal religious settlement for the Huguenots. The Huguenots received religious toleration and private worshipping outside of Paris. The Edict was considered a truce rather than religious tolerance as it gave the Huguenots protection. King Henry issued the edict in order to save the national unity of France. He saved France from religious turmoil even if it meant for him to give up his own religion. “Paris is worth the mass” is one of his famous sayings. He asserts that it is more important to secure the unity and safety of a nation than to not be stubborn and not follow the mass.