Manuel I of Portugal

Manuel I became King of Portugal in 1495 after his cousin John II died, inheriting a kingdom poised at the edge of the unknown. He funded Vasco da Gama's expedition to India in 1498, breaking open the spice trade and spawning the Portuguese India Armadas that locked down the route. He backed Pedro Álvares Cabral, who stumbled onto Brazil, and Afonso de Albuquerque, who built Portuguese dominance across the Indian Ocean. To manage the flood of wealth, Manuel created the Casa da Índia, a royal clearinghouse for monopolies and empire. The money made him Europe's richest king and let him pour gold into the Portuguese Renaissance - he kept playwright Gil Vicente fed and commissioned enough architecture that the style still carries his name, Manueline. He ruled until his death in 1521, leaving Portugal holding an empire that stretched across three continents.