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Queen Elizabeth

For a king or a queen to deserve the title "An ideal Renaissance Ruler" there are many criteria that need to be fulfilled. The Renaissance period was a new, different and developing period in European history where new thoughts and views flourished. A monarch at this time would need to be a very powerful person with talents in politics as well as support of exploration, new religious views and several other new ideas. Elizabeth I was the Queen of England in the period 1558-1603. She was a shrewd and intelligent queen who in a large degree contributed to making England a victorious and dominant nation. I believe that Queen Elizabeth because of this definitely deserves the title " An Ideal Renaissance Ruler"
One of the reasons for giving her this title is the result of English exploration and trade at her time. In the Elizabethan period England became a world power with international trade links around the world. The country developed the strongest naval force in Europe after its defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 and its ships circumnavigated the globe in voyages of exploration. Elizabeth aided the English privateers with ships and money and shared in their profits and stolen treasure. Elizabeth's reign also saw many brave voyages of discovery, including those of Francis Drake, Walter Raleigh and Humphrey Gilbert, particularly to the Americas. These expeditions prepared England for an age of colonisation and trade expansion, which Elizabeth herself recognised by establishing the East India Company in 1600. Her reign saw trading adventures along the coast of Africa (slaving), and new efforts to find short-cuts eastward and westward to the Orient. Other expeditions went in search of the legendary southern continent "terra australis incognita". But on the other hand there were negative sides of the story as well. During Elizabeth's long reign, the nation also suffered from high prices and severe economic depression, especially in the countryside, during the 1590s....