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Women Rulers of the Early Modern Period

From Jone Johnson Lewis,
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Queens, Empresses, Other Women Rulers 1600 - 1750

Women rulers became more common in the 17th and first half of the 18th centuries, the Early Modern period. Here are some of the more prominent women rulers -- queens, empresses -- of that period.

Anne of Austria

1601 - 1666

She was the daughter of Philip III of Spain and queen consort of Louis XIII of France. She ruled as regent for her son, Louis XIV. Alexander Dumas included her as a figure in Three Musketeers.

Anna Nzinga

1581-1663

Queen of the Ndongo (Angola) and queen of Matamba, she led the resistance to Portuguese settlement in central Africa.

Anne Stuart

1665 - 1714

She succeeded her brother-in-law, William of Orange, as ruler of Scotland and England, and was Queen at the creation of Great Britain with the Act of Union in 1707. She was married to George of Denmark, but though she was pregnant 18 times, only one child survived past infancy, and he died at age 12. Because she had no offspring to inherit the throne, her successor was George I, son of her cousin, Sophia, Electress of Hanover.

Catherine I

1684 - 1727

Married to Peter the Great of Russia, she ruled with her husband until his death, when she ruled as a figurehead for two years until her own death.

Christina of Sweden

1626 - 1689

Christina of Sweden is famous -- or infamous -- for ruling Sweden (1632 - 1654) in her own right, being raised as a boy, rumors of lesbianism and an affair with an Italian cardinal, and her abdication of the Swedish throne.

Elizabeth Bathory

1560 - 1614

Countess of Hungary, she was tried in 1611 for torturing and killing between 30 and 40 young girls.

Henrietta of France

1609 - 1669

Married to Charles I of England, she was the daughter of Marie de Medici and mother of Charles II. When her son was deposed, Henrietta worked to have him restored.

Isabella Farnese

1692 - 1766

Queen consort and second wife of Spain's Philip V, she virtually ruled while he was alive. She briefly served as regent between the death of her stepson, Ferdinand VI, and the succession of his brother, Charles III.

Khadija Turhan

1627 - 1683

Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, she was regent for her son Mehmed IV, helping defeat a plot against him.

Maria Anna

1606 - 1646

Married to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III, she was politically active until her death from poisoning.
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