Article - Prussia, the New Kid on the Block
Brandenburg and Prussia were devastated during the Thirty Years' War (1618 - 1648). It would take decades for the areas to recover. By the beginning of the 18th century, things were greatly improved.
Brandenburg - Prussia 1618 - 1701 (political designation in the early modern era)
Brandenburg - Prussia 1618 (beginning of the Thirty Years' War)
All of the following are fathers - sons up to Frederick William II (nephew of Frederick the Great)
Frederick the Great's nephew succeeds him, then its is father to son past Beethoven's death.
Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, reigned 1640 - 1688
Frederick William was a staunch pillar of the Calvinist faith, associated with the rising commercial class. Frederick William managed to rebuild his war-ravaged territories. In contrast to the religious disputes that disrupted the internal affairs of other European states, Brandenburg-Prussia benefited economically from the policy of religious tolerance adopted by Frederick William.
He promoted religious toleration and through the Edict of Potsdam (1685) he encouraged 20,000 French Protestants to immigrate to his realms after Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes. With the help of French subsidies, he built up an army of 40,000 to defend the country. He saw the importance of trade and promoted it vigorously. His shrewd domestic reforms gave Prussia a strong position in the post-Westphalian political order of north-central Europe, setting Prussia up for elevation from duchy to kingdom, achieved under his son and successor.
Frederick I Elector of Brandenburg (1688 - 1713) & First King in Prussia (1701 - 1713)
Frederick I elevated Prussia from a Duchy to a Kingdom, and as the Holy Roman Emperor lost control over Brandenburg, Frederick gains total control of both (essentially making them both Prussia). Frederick moved the capital of Prussia from Königsberg, Prussia to Berlin.
Frederick was a patron of the arts and learning. The Akademie der Künste (Academy of Art) in Berlin was founded by Frederick in 1696, as was the Academy of Sciences in 1700, though the latter was closed down by his son as an economic measure; it was reopened in 1740 by his grandson, Frederick II.
Frederick William I reigned 1713 - 1740
Frederick William I concerned himself with every aspect of his relatively small country, planning to satisfy all that was needed for Prussia to defend itself. His rule was absolutist and he was a firm autocrat. He practiced rigid management of the treasury, never started a war, and led a simple and austere lifestyle, in contrast to the lavish court his father had presided over. At his death, Prussia had a sound exchequer and a full treasury, in contrast to the other German states. Frederick William intervened briefly in the Great Northern War, allied with Peter the Great of Russia, in order to gain a portion of Swedish Pomerania. More significantly, aided by his close friend Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau, the "Soldier-King" made considerable reforms to the Prussian army's training, tactics and conscription program—introducing the canton system, and greatly increasing the Prussian infantry's rate of fire through the introduction of the iron ramrod. Frederick William's reforms left his son Frederick with the most formidable army in Europe, which Frederick used to increase Prussia's power.
Frederick II (the Great) reigned 1740 - 1786
An "enlightened absolutist" monarch, Frederick greatly expanded Prussia's borders by military conquest, instituted modern reforms in law, education, and government administration, and was a patron of the arts, sciences, and philosophy. Frederick sheltered the exiled French philosophe Voltaire.
He allowed for complete freedom of the press and revised the legal system allowing for non-aristocrats to be judges and serve in high government office excepting Catholics, though he kept Jesuits on as teachers after Pope Clement XIV disbanded the order. Frederick also had personal disdain for Jews, but allowed them in government. He also did business with the Rothchild banking family). He abolished most judicial torture and limited the death penalty to murder, he having to sign an execution warrant himself.
Frederick was a music lover who commissioned works by many composers, including Mozart.
Frederick the Great's rococo summer palace, Sanssouci
Major Wars involving Frederick the Great:
War of Austrian Secession (1740 - 1748) (including the First and Second Silesian Wars).
Prussia, France and the Electorate of Bavaria vs. Austria, Great Britain, the Dutch Republic, The Kingdom of Saxony.
The war began under the pretext that Maria Theresa was ineligible to succeed to the Habsburg thrones of her father, Charles VI, because Salic law precluded royal inheritance by a woman—though it was commonly thought that the challenge of eligibility was an excuse put forward by Prussia and France to challenge Hapsburg power. Austria was supported by Great Britain and the Dutch Republic, the traditional enemies of France, as well as the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Electorate of Saxony. France and Prussia were allied with the Electorate of Bavaria.
The war ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, by which Maria Theresa was confirmed as Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary, but Prussia retained control of Silesia. But the peace was soon to be shattered, when Austria's desire to recapture Silesia intertwined with the great political changes in Europe, which brought about the Seven Years' War.
The Seven Year's War (1756 - 1763)
The first world war fought on several continents (It is the "French and Indian War" in the North American colonies). The Seven Years’ War essentially comprised two struggles. One centered on the maritime and colonial conflict between Britain and its Bourbon enemies, France and Spain; the second, on the conflict between Frederick II (the Great) of Prussia and his opponents: Austria, France, Russia, and Sweden.
Two other less prominent struggles were also worthy of note. As an ally of Frederick, George II of Britain, as elector of Hanover, resisted French attacks in Germany, initially only with Hanoverian and Hessian troops but from 1758 with the assistance of British forces also. In 1762, Spain, with French support, attacked Britain’s ally Portugal, but, after initial checks, the Portuguese, thanks to British assistance, managed to resist successfully.
At the end of the war, Frederick the Great of Prussia, despite heavy loses in money and manpower, managed to maintain status quo antebellum, and Great Britain came out the big winner, further establishing her colonial interests and maintain superiority of the high seas.
Prussia, 1788 (at the death of Frederick the Great)
Frederick William II reigned 1786 - 1797 (nephew of Frederick the Great)
An anti-Enlightenment and rather inept ruler, this Frederick William reversed Frederick II's economic policies, leading Prussia into financial difficulties that ultimately affected the quality of the army and hurt Prussia badly in the Napoleonic wars.
Frederick William was interested in mysticism and got involved in not only adulterous relationships, but also bigamous marriages. He was, however, a patron of the arts, who supported, among others, Mozart and Beethoven.
Frederick William was long rumored to be Beethoven's father, a rumor Beethoven only denied near the end of his life.
Frederick William III reigned 1797 - 1840 (son of Frederick William II)
Ruling during the Napoleonic Wars, F.W. III had a difficult time. At first Frederick William and his advisors attempted to pursue a policy of neutrality in the Napoleonic Wars. Although they succeeded in keeping out of the Third Coalition in 1805, eventually Frederick William was swayed by the attitude of the queen, who led Prussia's pro-war party, and entered into war in October 1806.
On 14 October 1806, at the Battle of Jena-Auerstädt, the French effectively decimated the effectiveness and functionality of the Prussian army led by Frederick William, and the Prussian army collapsed entirely soon after. The royal family fled to Memel, East Prussia, where they fell on the mercy of Emperor Alexander I of Russia. However, Frederick's ministers rebuilt the army and Prussia reentered the wars to help defeat Napoleon in 1814, and again in 1815.
Frederick forced Lutherans and Reformed Protestants (followers of Jean Calvin) into a unified Prussian church.
On the more positive side, Frederick cleaned up the reputation of his dynasty by dismissing the corrupt and licentious ministers of his father's reign.
Frederick William IV reigned 1840 - 1861 (son of Frederick William III)
William I reigned 1861 - 1871, then Emperor of Germany (Kaiser Wilhelm) to 1888 (son of Frederick William IV)
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