Transcript Analyze the military, political, and social factors that account for the

Analyze the military, political, and
social factors that account for the
rise of Prussia between 1640 and
1786
Jamie Driskill
Period 4
Sept. 30, 2011
Military
• Strong kings began to emerge in many lands in the
course of the 17th century. War and the threat of war
aided rulers greatly in their attempts to build absolute
monarchies.
• There was an endless struggle for power, as eastern
rulers not only fought one another but also battled
with armies of invaders from Asia.
• 1713-1740 Growth of Prussian Military.
• The royal absolutism created in Prussia was stronger
and more effective that that established in Austria,
giving them a slight advantage in the struggle for
power in east central Europe in the 18th century.
Political
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1620-1740 Growth of absolutism in Prussia.
1640-1688 Reign of Frederick William in Prussia.
1660 Frederick William forced the states to introduce permanent taxation without
consent in order to pay for the permanent standing army.
In 1701 the English, Dutch, Austrians, and Prussians form the grand alliance against
Louis XIV. Claiming they were fighting to prevent France from becoming too strong
in Europe.(During the previous half century there was a rivalry among France,
Holland, and England that created serious international tension.)
Monarchs reduced the political power of the landlord nobility (Junkers). They left
the nobles the unchallenged masters of their peasants, the would-be absolutist
monarchs of eastern Europe gradually gained and monopolized political power in
three key areas.
1. imposing and collecting permanent taxes without consent.
2. maintained permanent standing armies.
3. conducting relations with other state as they pleased.
Frederick III’s main political accomplishment was winning a prestigious royal title
and being crowned king Frederick I in 1701 as a reward for aiding the Holy Roman
Emperor in the War of Spanish Succession.
Social
• When he came to power in 1640, the great elector was determined to
unify his 3 quite separate provinces and add to them by diplomacy and
war.
• The struggle between the great elector and the provincial estates was
long, complicated and intense. After the 30 years war representatives of
the nobility zealously reasserted the right of the estates to vote taxes, a
right the Swedish armies of occupation had simply ignored.
• In Prussia in 1653, peasants were accused to be tied to their lords in
hereditary subjugation (bound to their lords from one generation to the
next as well as to the land.)
• Between 1661 and 1663, the great elector eventually had his way.
• 1688 the great elector died. New one: elector Frederick III “the
ostentatious ” who focused on imitating the style of Louis XIV (building
expensive palace and cultivating the arts.)the tendency of luxury-loving,
petty tyranny was reversed by Frederick William I “the soldiers king” (r.
1713-1740). He was the most talented reformer ever produced by the
Hohenzollern family.