Transcript Part Three: The House of Hohenzollern

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…