Peter the Great - Absolute Monarch
Peter the Great
An “absolute monarch” is a king or queen who is completely and totally in control over every aspect of the life of his people. The period of exploration and discovery in Europe (i.e. the 1400’s through the 1700’s) was a time of many absolute monarchs. Many of them were great examples of this, but none exemplified the qualities of an absolute monarch quite like Peter the Great of Russia. Peter changed the way all of Russia operated by changing the way it was ruled. He knew that his country was behind the rest of the world in culture and in technology. He also knew that the countries that were leading the world were those to the west, so he did everything he could to “westernize” his people.
Peter took over the throne after a power struggle among the ruling family, however he was only 10 years of age when he gained control. He was forced to rule with his mentally retarded half brother, Ivan. He did not gain complete control until after his mother’s death. Peter’s first move to westernize his country was to go out into the world and bring back the culture and technology of the outside world, something no other ruler of his country had ever done. He brought back with him hundreds of workers from the Netherlands and England to improve the technology of his country. Though Peter was very concerned with the well being of his country, he was also very strict. When he returned, he put down a revolt by ordering the public massacre of 1,200 rebels.
Peter then began to rebuild his army. He armed his soldiers with the technology he brought back from his journey and they were trained by the best of the West for their long war against Sweden. Thanks to Peter’s leadership and the new technology that he brought into his country, the Russians defeated the Swedes and gained territory. The result of this treaty that ended this war was to give Peter’s nation control over area along the Gulf of Finland, which is where the city of St. Petersburg was established.
A great part of this victory was due to the new Russian navy, which Peter established. If it had not been for Peter re-training and supplying the army with...