part three: the house of hohenzollern. the thirty years war devastated the german speaking lands

Part Three: The House of Hohenzollern

The Thirty Years War devastated the German speaking lands

Prussia laid just outside of the Holy Roman Empire and was seen as a meaningless territory

King Frederick William was able to organize Prussia into a unified nation, establishing the

Hohenzollern Dynasty

Frederick was the nephew of the King of Sweden and his wife was the granddaughter of William of

Orange

Frederick William was very well educated and was obsessed with making Prussia into a great

power

Even though he was a strict Calvinist, Frederick allowed Catholics and Jews to worship freely in

Prussia

The “Great Elector” established Berlin as his capital city and allowed over 20,000 French

Huguenots to immigrate there

His greatest achievement was developing a professional (non-mercenary) standing army

When “Great Elector” Frederick William died, he was replaced by his son Frederick I

Unlike his father, Frederick I was a weak ruler who did little but maintain what his father had

started for over 25 years

He was replaced by his son, Frederick William I, who was a strong ruler

Due to Frederick William I’s obsession with the military he was nicknamed the “Soldier King”

Under him the Prussian military doubled in size and consumed 80% of the national budget

Despite this, he balanced the budget but cutting the lavishness of him imperial court

Under Frederick William I the Prussian Army was molded into one of absolute obedience and

discipline

Frederick William I’s greatest fear was that his oldest son, Frederick II, would not be strong

enough to rule

Young Prince Frederick loved music, philosophy, and poetry

Frederick’s father would constantly beat and humiliate him

In 1730 he ran away from home and attempted to move to England

He was caught and as punishment Frederick was forced to watch his best friend be beheaded

Frederick suggested to his father that he be married to Maria Theresa, but instead he was

married to a German Princess

Young Frederick II took power at the age of 28, only six months after Maria Theresa first came to

power

Shortly after taking power, Frederick II decided to began the War of Austrian Succession by

attempting to remove Maria Theresa from power

After failing to both capture the throne of Austria and remove Maria Theresa from power Frederick

began reworking his military startegy

Meanwhile, he studied French philosophy and the works of Machiavelli

Frederick II came to the conclusion that Machiavelli’s statements that people were

naturally wicked were incorrect

Frederick instead believed that people were both good and bad

He also wrote that the ruler existed for the benefit of the nation, not the other way around as

Machiavelli had argued

Frederick II watched in horror as his rival, Maria Theresa, allied Austria with France, Sweden, and

Russia

Frederick II was only able to form an alliance with Great Britain, but decided that it was better to

fight his enemies now than wait for later

Frederick II launched a series of battles against Russia, Austria, and France that began

The Seven Years War

Britain fought France in the New World, where it was called the French and Indian War

While England fought France in the Americas, Frederick’s Prussia struggled against its three

powerful enemies

Amazingly, Frederick II often fought in the battles personally!

He even had six horses shot from under him during battles

Frederick II innovated many new battle techniques and formations, earning him the reputation of military genius early in his rule

Despite being outnumbered 10 to 1 in the Seven Years War, Prussia held its own – mostly due to

Frederick’s genius

Napoleon considered Frederick to be the greatest military Genius of all time

At first the Seven Years War went very well for Frederick and his armies were winning

But, as the years passed, Austria and Russia were able to fight their way towards Berlin

It was at this moment that a “Miracle” saved Prussia and Frederick II from complete

destruction

The Treaty of Paris of 1763 ended the Seven Years War, which was the worst European war of

the 18th Century

Much later, Winston Churchill would call it the real First World War

The Treaty cost France all of its American colonies, which were given to Britain

Prussia reestablished itself as a great power and the map of Europe returned to where it was

before the war

Near defeat did not deter Frederick II and he would go on to lead Prussia into numerous other

wars

These later wars led to the expansion of Prussia’s land and power

While fighting bravely in battle, Frederick also managed to completely reform the government of

Prussia

Frederick II could speak Ten Languages, including Ancient Greek, Latin, and Hebrew!

He brought into Prussia a wealth of new ideas, making him an Enlightened Monarch

He built many great opera houses, libraries, universities, and palaces

Under Frederick II, Prussia went from being a backwards German nation to one of the most

educated places on Earth

He completely overhauled the entire economic and agricultural systems of Prussia, making them

up to date with those of the West

He also had his capital city, Berlin, completely redesigned, making it the envy of many rulers

Throughout this time Frederick even found time to compose over 100 Sonatas and 4 symphonies

All of these things earned him the title Frederick the Great

Frederick’s final goal was the conquest of the duel-nation of Poland and Lithuania

In order to accomplish this, Frederick allied Prussia with its old enemies – Sweden, Austria,

and Russia

The four nations gobbled up Lithuania and Poland, both of which vanished as free nations

for over a century

This is known as the Partition of Poland

Frederick the Great ruled Prussia for 46 years and died at the age of 74

Prussia’s throne passed to Frederick’s nephew, Frederick William II

Even though Prussia was now a major new power, an old/larger power to the East was about

to reach new heights of power…