Myth 5: His great-grandson brought the potato to Germany. A new biography of "the Great Elector" takes a deeper look at the life of the famous member of German royalty and debunks myths. WebQUOTES.
[226], Frederick's interest in land reclamation may have resulted from his upbringing. [169] For their part, the Austrians tried to pressure the French to participate in the War of Bavarian Succession since there were guarantees under consideration related to the Peace of Westphalia, clauses which linked the Bourbon dynasty of France and the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty of Austria. He eliminated the Estates as a political factor in the government of his terri tories, although they continued to meet and to exercise certain functions, without being able to resist the growth of absolute government. His wills testify that at the end of his life, Frederick William wanted to divide his country among his sons, which makes it clear that, contrary to what is often claimed, he did not think of laying the foundation for what would later become Prussia. To avoid the possibility of his son Frederick being motivated by the same concerns, the king ordered that his heir not be taught about predestination. [234] Additionally, the Hohenfriedberger Marsch was allegedly written by Frederick to commemorate his victory in the Battle of Hohenfriedberg during the Second Silesian War. When someone once asked Frederick why he did not wear spurs when riding his horse, he replied, "Try sticking a fork into your naked stomach, and you will soon see why. The profits exceeded 25million thalers, twice the peacetime national budget of Prussia. He was trying to "attach importance to himself and find a position within the German and European princely public sphere," says Luh. Luh also doubts that Brandenburg had a functioning bureaucratic apparatus at the end of Frederick William's reign in 1688 as other historians have argued. Unusually for the time and his aristocratic background, he criticised hunting as cruel, rough and uneducated. [112], In the remaining years of the war, Frederick faced a coalition of enemies including Austria, France, Russia, Sweden, and the Holy Roman Empire,[113] supported only by Great Britain and its allies Hesse, Brunswick, and Hanover. For this, he was sometimes called Der Kartoffelknig (the Potato King). In his 1797 book, Mmoires pour servir l'histoire du Jacobinisme (Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism), Barruel described an influential conspiracy theory that accused King Frederick of taking part in a plot which led to the outbreak of the French Revolution and having been the secret "protector and adviser" of fellow-conspirators Voltaire, Jean le Rond d'Alembert, and Denis Diderot, who all sought "to destroy Christianity" and foment "rebellion against Kings and Monarchs". [96], In 1756, Frederick attempted to forestall Britain's financing of a Russian army on Prussia's border by negotiating an alliance with Britain at the Convention of Westminster, by which Prussia would protect Hanover against French attack, and Britain would no longer subsidise Russia. At his accession the scattered lands of the Hohenzollern were devastated and depopulated by the Thirty Years War and occupied by Swedish troops. [76] This victory, along with the Franco-Bavarian forces capturing Prague, forced the Austrians to seek peace. Are there any princes or princesses left in Germany? [151] By 1752, he had prepared the ground for the partition of PolandLithuania, aiming to achieve his goal of building a territorial bridge between Pomerania, Brandenburg, and his East Prussian provinces. [28], Frederick was granted a royal pardon and released from his cell on 18 November 1730, although he remained stripped of his military rank. As history is told, he was given the epithet "the Great Elector" as leader of a Brandenburg army against the Swedes in 1675. [127] He won a marginal victory at the Battle of Torgau on 3 November,[128] which secured Berlin from further raids. atheist and gay frederick the great was more WebIts ruler, Frederick William (164088), later known as the Great Elector, faced the problem of integrating and defending widely separated possessions, which included the duchy of Prussia, inherited in 1619 but remaining under Polish suzerainty and geographically separated from the electorate of Brandenburg; the counties of Cleves, Mark, and [134] This led to the collapse of the anti-Prussian coalition; Peter immediately promised to end the Russian occupation of East Prussia and Pomerania, returning them to Frederick. WebFrederick William the Great Elector built Brandenburg-Prussia into a significant European power by making the General War Commissariat the bureaucratic machine of his state Scandinavia in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries witnessed Sweden become a second-rate power after the Great Northern War [135] More significantly, Russia's about-face from an enemy of Prussia to its patron rattled the leadership of Sweden, who hastily made peace with Frederick as well. [187], Frederick strove to put Prussia's fiscal system in order. The people say what they like and then I do what I like. WebThe Great Elector is most famous for building a strong standing army, with an elite officer corps. 80-85, ru.scribd.com. Frederick William was eventually succeeded by Frederick I He left instructions that he should be buried next to his greyhounds on the vineyard terrace, on the side of the corps de logis of Sanssouci. [306], On the morning of 17 August 1786, Frederick died in an armchair in his study at Sanssouci, aged 74. This eventually led to the Battle of Leipzig (1813), where Prussia and Austria. 1-10 of 11 documents vw transporter t6 fuse box location; how to unregister blink camera without account; Ecommerce; extremely young girls sex. Luh however disagrees:The ruler gave himself this title and made sure his lofty name was spread throughout Europe by his diplomats. [97] To strengthen his strategic position against this coalition,[98] on 29 August 1756, Frederick's well-prepared army preemptively invaded Saxony. Frederick would later admit to humiliation at his abdication of command[68] and would state that Mollwitz was his school. Frederick the Great. [78] In late August 1744, Frederick's army had crossed the Bohemian frontier, marched directly to Prague, and laid siege to the city, which surrendered on 16 September 1744 after a three-day bombardment. [39], In 1732, Frederick was restored to the Prussian Army as Colonel of the Regiment von der Goltz, stationed near Nauen and Neuruppin. Frederick wrote in his Testament politique: We have too many Jews in the towns. He did not admire the encyclopdistes or the French intellectual avant-garde of his time,[248] though he did shelter Rousseau from persecution for a number of years. Everybody is using coffee; this must be prevented. [283], Napoleon Bonaparte saw the Prussian king as a military commander of the first rank;[284] after Napoleon's victory over the Fourth Coalition in 1807, he visited Frederick's tomb in Potsdam and remarked to his officers, "Gentlemen, if this man were still alive I would not be here". There are no circumlocutions, he gives factual and historical proof of the assertions he makes, for he is well versed in history."[293]. ; 24 January 1712 17 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. After nightfall, Frederick's body was finally laid to rest in the terrace of the vineyard of Sanssouciin the still existing crypt he had built therewithout pomp, in accordance with his will. [154] Frederick himself was partly responsible for this weakness by opposing attempts at financial and political reform in Poland,[149] and undermining the Polish economy by inflating its currency by his use of Polish coin dies. 
Frederick and Elisabeth Christine had no children, and Frederick bestowed the title of the heir to the throne, "Prince of Prussia", on his brother Augustus William. [111] Despite its strong performance, the losses suffered from combat, disease and desertion had severely reduced the quality of the Prussian army. The more I see of men, the better I like my dog. "[47], In one defining respect Frederick would come to the throne with an exceptional inheritance. Myth 3: Frederick William of Brandenburg introduced bureaucracy. WebFrederick William, German Friedrich Wilhelm known as the Great Elector, (born Feb. 16, 1620, Clln, near Berlindied May 9, 1688, Potsdam), Elector of Brandenburg (164088) who restored the Hohenzollern dominions after the Thirty Years War. [148], Frederick sought to acquire and economically exploit Polish Prussia as part of his wider aim of enriching his kingdom. The defeat ended the Swedish reputation for military invincibility. June 1998. Frederick was the son of then-Crown Prince Frederick William of Prussia and his wife, Sophia Dorothea of Hanover. Frederick remained an admired historical figure through Germany's defeat in World WarI, and the Nazis glorified him as a great German leader prefiguring Adolf Hitler, who personally idolised him. 133 Copy quote. [215], Like many leading figures in the Age of Enlightenment, Frederick was a Freemason,[216] having joined during a trip to Brunswick in 1738. 
[141] Frederick also financed the war by devaluing the Prussian coin five times; debased coins were produced with the help of Leipzig mintmasters, Veitel Heine Ephraim, Daniel Itzig and Moses Isaacs. No government can exist without taxation. Eventually, Frederick was forced to withdraw to Silesia as winter approached. This created an interest in cultivation and development that the boy retained when he became ruler. However, on 15 December 1745, Prussian forces under the command of Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau soundly defeated the Saxons at the Battle of Kesselsdorf. [102] When the Saxon forces in Pirna finally capitulated in October 1756, Frederick forcibly incorporated them into his own army. A man with his heart in his profession imagines and finds resources where the worthless and lazy despair. [144] Saxony, occupied by Prussia for most of the conflict, was left nearly destitute as a result. [159] Frederick took advantage of this situation by becoming the protector of Protestant interests in Poland in the name of religious freedom. "In his time he was never seen as a great elector, but rather as a difficult person who wanted to get to the top." [196] He commissioned Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky to promote the trade and to take on the competition with France put a silk factory where soon 1,500 people found employment. He became known as Frederick the Great (German: Friedrich der Groe) and was nicknamed "Old Fritz" (German: "Der Alte Fritz"). [193] If you search for the "The Great Elector" on the Internet, you will find an entry for Frederick Williamof Brandenburg in Wikipedia. Visitors to his grave often place potatoes on his gravestone in honour of his role in promoting the use of the potato in Prussia. [208] He befriended the Roman Catholic Prince-Bishop of Warmia, Ignacy Krasicki, whom he asked to consecrate St. Hedwig's Cathedral in 1773. Many battles have been fought and won by soldiers nourished on beer, and the King does not believe that coffee-drinking soldiers can be relied upon to endure hardships in case of another war. [209] He also accepted countless Protestant weavers from Bohemia, who were fleeing from the devoutly Catholic rule of Maria Theresa, granting them freedom from taxes and military service. In a sense, he was not only a servant of the state, but a servant of his own reputation and prestige. Little minds try to defend everything at once, but sensible people look at the main point only; they parry the worst blows and stand a little hurt if thereby they avoid a greater one. [252] He was educated by French tutors,[253] and almost all the books in his library, which covered topics as diverse as mathematics, art, politics, the classics, and literary works by 17th century French authors, were written in French. WebFrederick The Great King Of Prussia By Tim Blanning 5 interesting facts about frederick the great prussian. Theologians are all alike, of whatever religion or country they may be; their aim is always to wield despotic authority over men's consciences; they therefore persecute all of us who have the temerity to tell the truth. frederick the great king of prussia by tim blanning. About 1,200 new villages were founded in his reign. [5], Frederick WilliamI, popularly dubbed the "Soldier King", had created a large and powerful army that included a regiment of his famous "Potsdam Giants"; he carefully managed the kingdom's wealth and developed a strong centralised government. [231] He was also a talented musician and composer in his own right, playing the transverse flute,[232] as well as composing 121 sonatas for flute and continuo, four concertos for flute and strings, four sinfonias,[233] three military marches and seven arias. [51] By using the resources his frugal father had cultivated, Frederick was eventually able to establish Prussia as the fifth and smallest European great power. WebFrederick the Great. [290], Frederick the Great believed that creating alliances was necessary, as Prussia did not have the resources of nations like France or Austria. [194], Around 1751 Frederick founded the Emden Company to promote trade with China. [282] Even more important were his operational successes, especially the use of interior lines to prevent the unification of numerically superior opposing armies and defend the Prussian core territory. Fredrick William was elector of Bradenburg-Prussia from 1640 to 1688. [175] Finally, Catherine II of Russia threatened to enter the war on Frederick's side if peace was not negotiated, and Joseph reluctantly dropped his claim to Bavaria. With the help of French experts, he organised a system of indirect taxation, which provided the state with more revenue than direct taxation; though French officials administering it may have pocketed some of the profit. In this respect, he was not very tolerant. [313] For example, German historians often made him the romantic model of a glorified warrior, praising his leadership, administrative efficiency, devotion to duty and success in building up Prussia to a leading role in Europe. WebFrederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (1620-1688), called "the Great Elector" Gallery . [152] The new territories would also provide an increased tax base, additional populations for the Prussian military, and serve as a surrogate for the other overseas colonies of the other great powers. Among them were craftsmen, builders and merchants. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Silesian wars, his reorganisation of the Prussian Army, the First Partition of Poland, and his patronage of the arts and the Enlightenment. [14], Although his father, Frederick WilliamI, had been raised a Calvinist in spite of the Lutheran state faith in Prussia, he feared he was not one of God's elect. Peter III was so enamoured of Frederick that he not only offered him the full use of a Russian corps for the remainder of the war against Austria, he also wrote to Frederick that he would rather have been a general in the Prussian army than Tsar of Russia. The greatest and noblest pleasure which we have in this world is to discover new truths, and the next is to shake off old prejudices. [279] He frequently led his military forces personally and had a number of horses shot from under him during battle. These works, which were often completed in collaboration with Graun,[d] included the operas Coriolano (1749), Silla (1753), Montezuma (1755), and Il tempio d'Amore (1756). The functionality and stability of the reform made the Prussian monetary system the standard in Northern Germany. The generations are numbered from the ascension of, Srpskohrvatski / , Marriage and War of the Polish Succession, Frederick's relationship to Graun is illustrated by his comment upon hearing news of Graun's death in Berlin, which he received eight days after the Battle of Prague: "Eight days ago, I lost my best field-marshal (Schwerin), and now my Graun.
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