Marriage Politics of the European Royal Dinasties in the Early Modern Period

Marriage politics in the Early Modern Age Europe was an important component of the overall politics of the leading European monarchies, which they often used to achieve their political goals. Marriage politics was used to create alliances, conclude peace negotiations, and end long-term conflicts. Marriages between the members of the same dynasty, even between firs cousins, were often contracted for the same purposes. Royal line of succession was one of the most prominent aspects of marriage politics. Failure to produce an heir to the throne, particularly a male heir, frequently led to dynastic crises which often turned into war conflicts. Even though such politics had most often regarded women as mere objects, numerous examples of successful female rulers in England, Russia, and the Habsburg Monarchy contradict such views and prove that those queens ruled their countries and led them to glory as successfully as their male counterparts.