Prussia

Prussia

17th century Prussia

• Hohenzollern family ruled Brandenburg as imperial electors and Prussia as dukes
• One of 7 princes/archbishops to elect HR Emperor
• 1640: Frederick William("Great Elector") wanted to unify his 3 provinces: Brandenburg, Prussia, and territories along Rhine
• Brandenburg and Prussia dominated by nobility and landowning class (Junkers)

• F. William profited from ongoing war and threat of Russia invasion
• wanted permanent standing army
• persuaded Junkers to accept taxation in return for reconfirmation of privileges
• including authority over serfs
• estates' power declined
• F. W. tripled state revenue and expanded army to 30,000

Duchy of Prussia

"Prussia Proper"

• Established during the Protestant Reformation - 1525
• 1st official Lutheran Duchy with a German-speaking majority
• Teutonic Grand Master Albert secularized Prussian territory for the 1st Protestant state church
• Capital Königsberg

Jülich succession 1609

• Duke John William of Jülich-Cleves-Berg dies without children
• Two rival claimants sue, Wolfgang William and Duchess Anna
• Both protestant and fighting, people fine until scared by HR Emperor backs up Wolfgang William
• Wolfgang became Catholic to gain leverage, Anna's husband became Calvinistic
• Wolfgang got Jülich and Berg, Anna's husband got Cleves, Mark, Reavensberg

Shows some of the beginning of the Thirty Years War

Prussia before the 30 year's war

Frederick William I

Teutonic Knights and Prussia

• 1226, Duke Konrad I called in the religious Teutonic order to subjugate the Pagan-Prussians
• Prussia was seen as a good training ground to fight against the Muslims in Outremer

• Aided HRE in War of Spanish Succession, Frederick I received title of King of Prussia ("the Soldier's Son")
• Eliminated last parliamentary estates and local self-government
• Frederick and ministers built an honest bureaucracy
• military state
• 1740, had the fourth-largest army
• known for their skill and discipline

Army

• Large expansion due to forced conscription
• lifelong (1713)
• 1733 F. William I ordered all Prussian men go under military training and serve as reservists
• preserved agriculture production and army size
• King enlisted Junkers to lead army
• Civil society became disciplined and rigid
• militaristic country

• 50 years of bloodshed and fighting, Knights won and gained a charter from the Pope to serve as a sovereign monastic state
• Black plague resulted in an increase for immigration, founded multiple Teutonic cities, old Prussians/new immigrants became "germanized"

Summary

Prussia emerges as one of the first modern military states

• Have a standing army
• Have a bureaucratic government
• Have a centralized government
• Unified
• Sovereign nation