Powerful rulers during the age of the monarchy: Queen Elizabeth I and Czarina Catherine the Great
Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries saw a development of many strong and powerful monarchs. Most of these monarchs were dynamic rulers whose success was due to their attention to all aspects of rule, in particular, economics, society, and foreign policy. Two monarchs who show their strengths and weaknesses in these categories are Elizabeth I of England and Catherine the Great of Russia. Though similar in some methods of their rule, Catherine and Elizabeth held very different foreign policies. These differences are what shaped their unique legacies.
Catherine the Great and Elizabeth I had economic policies which were comparable in some aspects but different in others. Czarina Catherine's entire economic structure was a command economy based on the institution of serfdom. In 1785 Czarina Catherine had issued a document called the Charter of Nobility, which not only released the nobles from the service required of them by one of her predecessors, Peter I, but granted them full control over their serfs as well. (Ursula.) In this way, Russia's economy was under the control of the nobility, who were answerable to their Czarina, Catherine. Similar to Czarina Catherine, Queen Elizabeth I also had a command economy, which she regulated through an act passed called the Stature of Apprentices. Peasants were required to live at the place of their birth, work where commanded, set wages, and monitored apprenticeships. Thus, trade was essentially under the direct control of Queen Elizabeth I. However, Elizabethan peasants could not be compared to Czarina Catherine's serfs, because the English nobility was not allowed to manipulate them as they pleased. In addition, the majority of Queen Elizabeth I's income came from the dispensation of offices and lands, and not profit off of the labors of the peasants. Both Czarina Catherine and Queen Elizabeth I started their reigns off in debt. Czarina Catherine was able to overcome the debt and even spend money on large social projects,
Catherine the Great and Elizabeth I had economic policies which were comparable in some aspects but different in others. Czarina Catherine's entire economic structure was a command economy based on the institution of serfdom. In 1785 Czarina Catherine had issued a document called the Charter of Nobility, which not only released the nobles from the service required of them by one of her predecessors, Peter I, but granted them full control over their serfs as well. (Ursula.) In this way, Russia's economy was under the control of the nobility, who were answerable to their Czarina, Catherine. Similar to Czarina Catherine, Queen Elizabeth I also had a command economy, which she regulated through an act passed called the Stature of Apprentices. Peasants were required to live at the place of their birth, work where commanded, set wages, and monitored apprenticeships. Thus, trade was essentially under the direct control of Queen Elizabeth I. However, Elizabethan peasants could not be compared to Czarina Catherine's serfs, because the English nobility was not allowed to manipulate them as they pleased. In addition, the majority of Queen Elizabeth I's income came from the dispensation of offices and lands, and not profit off of the labors of the peasants. Both Czarina Catherine and Queen Elizabeth I started their reigns off in debt. Czarina Catherine was able to overcome the debt and even spend money on large social projects,