Part Three: The House of Hohenzollern

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Part Three The House of Hohenzollern
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The Thirty Years War devastated the German
speaking lands
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Prussia laid just outside of the Holy Roman
Empire and was seen as a meaningless territory
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King Frederick William was able to organize
Prussia into a unified nation, establishing the
Hohenzollern Dynasty
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Frederick was the nephew of the King of Sweden
and his wife was the granddaughter of William of
Orange
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Frederick William was very well educated and was
obsessed with making Prussia into a great power
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Even though he was a strict Calvinist, Frederick
allowed Catholics and Jews to worship freely in
Prussia
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The Great Elector established Berlin as his
capital city and allowed over 20,000 French
Huguenots to immigrate there
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His greatest achievement was developing a
professional (non-mercenary) standing army
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When Great Elector Frederick William died, he
was replaced by his son Frederick I
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Unlike his father, Frederick I was a weak ruler
who did little but maintain what his father had
started for over 25 years
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He was replaced by his son, Frederick William I,
who was a strong ruler
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Due to Frederick William Is obsession with the
military he was nicknamed the Soldier King
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Under him the Prussian military doubled in size
and consumed 80 of the national budget
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Despite this, he balanced the budget but cutting
the lavishness of him imperial court
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Under Frederick William I the Prussian Army was
molded into one of absolute obedience and
discipline
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Frederick William Is greatest fear was that his
oldest son, Frederick II, would not be strong
enough to rule
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Young Prince Frederick loved music, philosophy,
and poetry
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Fredericks father would constantly beat and
humiliate him
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In 1730 he ran away from home and attempted to
move to England
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He was caught and as punishment Frederick was
forced to watch his best friend be beheaded
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Frederick suggested to his father that he be
married to Maria Theresa, but instead he was
married to a German Princess
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Young Frederick II took power at the age of 28,
only six months after Maria Theresa first came to
power
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Shortly after taking power, Frederick II decided
to began the War of Austrian Succession by
attempting to remove Maria Theresa from power
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After failing to both capture the throne of
Austria and remove Maria Theresa from power
Frederick began reworking his military startegy
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Meanwhile, he studied French philosophy and the
works of Machiavelli
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Frederick II came to the conclusion that
Machiavellis statements that people were
naturally wicked were incorrect
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Frederick instead believed that people were both
good and bad
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He also wrote that the ruler existed for the
benefit of the nation, not the other way around
as Machiavelli had argued
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Frederick II watched in horror as his rival,
Maria Theresa, allied Austria with France,
Sweden, and Russia
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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
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Frederick II launched a series of battles against
Russia, Austria, and France that began The Seven
Years War
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Britain fought France in the New World, where it
was called the French and Indian War
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While England fought France in the Americas,
Fredericks Prussia struggled against its three
powerful enemies
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Amazingly, Frederick II often fought in the
battles personally!
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He even had six horses shot from under him during
battles
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Frederick II innovated many new battle techniques
and formations, earning him the reputation of
military genius early in his rule
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Despite being outnumbered 10 to 1 in the Seven
Years War, Prussia held its own mostly due to
Fredericks genius
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Napoleon considered Frederick to be the greatest
military Genius of all time
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At first the Seven Years War went very well for
Frederick and his armies were winning
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But, as the years passed, Austria and Russia were
able to fight their way towards Berlin
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It was at this moment that a Miracle saved
Prussia and Frederick II from complete destruction
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The Treaty of Paris of 1763 ended the Seven Years
War, which was the worst European war of the 18th
Century
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Much later, Winston Churchill would call it the
real First World War
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The Treaty cost France all of its American
colonies, which were given to Britain
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Prussia reestablished itself as a great power and
the map of Europe returned to where it was before
the war
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Near defeat did not deter Frederick II and he
would go on to lead Prussia into numerous other
wars
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These later wars led to the expansion of
Prussias land and power
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While fighting bravely in battle, Frederick also
managed to completely reform the government of
Prussia
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Frederick II could speak Ten Languages, including
Ancient Greek, Latin, and Hebrew!
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He brought into Prussia a wealth of new ideas,
making him an Enlightened Monarch
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He built many great opera houses, libraries,
universities, and palaces
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Under Frederick II, Prussia went from being a
backwards German nation to one of the most
educated places on Earth
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He completely overhauled the entire economic and
agricultural systems of Prussia, making them up
to date with those of the West
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He also had his capital city, Berlin, completely
redesigned, making it the envy of many rulers
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Throughout this time Frederick even found time to
compose over 100 Sonatas and 4 symphonies
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All of these things earned him the title
Frederick the Great
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Fredericks final goal was the conquest of the
duel-nation of Poland and Lithuania
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In order to accomplish this, Frederick allied
Prussia with its old enemies Sweden, Austria,
and Russia
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The four nations gobbled up Lithuania and Poland,
both of which vanished as free nations for over a
century
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This is known as the Partition of Poland
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Frederick the Great ruled Prussia for 46 years
and died at the age of 74
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Prussias throne passed to Fredericks nephew,
Frederick William II
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Even though Prussia was now a major new power, an
old/larger power to the East was about to reach
new heights of power