THE RISE OF PRUSSIA: FREDERICK THE GREAT. (1740-1786.)
THE BEGINNINGS OF PRUSSIA.--The foundation of the Prussian Kingdom was
laid in the beginning of the seventeenth century (1611) by the union of
two small states in the North of Germany. These were the Mark, or
Electorate, of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia. Brandenburg had been
gradually growing into prominence since the tenth century. Its ruler at
this time was a prince of the now noted House of Hohenzollern, and was one
of the seven princes to whom belonged the right of electing the emperor.
THE GREAT ELECTOR, FREDERICK WILLIAM (1640-1688).--Although this new
Prussian power was destined to become the champion of German
Protestantism, it acted a very unworthy and vacillating part in the Thirty
Years' War. But just before the close of that struggle a strong man came
to the throne, Frederick William, better known as the Great Elector. He
infused vigor and strength into every department of the State, and
acquired such a position for his government that at the Peace of
Westphalia he was able to secure new territory, which greatly enhanced his
power and prominence among the German princes.
[Illustration: THE GREAT ELECTOR. (From a battle-piece.)]
The Great Elector ruled for nearly half a century. He laid the basis of
the military power of Prussia by the formation of a standing army, and
transmitted to his son and successor a strongly centralized and despotic
authority.
HOW THE ELECTOR OF BRANDENBURG ACQUIRED THE TITLE OF KING.--Frederick III.
(1688-1713), son of the Great Elector, was ambitious for the title of
king, a dignity that the weight and influence won for the Prussian state
by his father fairly justified him in seeking. He saw about him other
princes less powerful than himself enjoying this dignity, and he too
"would be a king and wear a crown." The recent elevation of William of
Orange, Stadtholder of Holland, to royal honors in England (see p. 624),
stimulated the Elector's ambition.
It was necessary of course for Frederick to secure the consent of the
emperor, a matter of some difficulty, for the Catholic advisers of the
Austrian court were bitterly opposed to having an heretical prince thus
honored and advanced, while the emperor himself was not at all pleased
with the idea. But the War of the Spanish Succession was just about to
open, and the emperor was extremely anxious to secure Frederick's
assistance in the coming struggle. Therefore, on condition of his
furnishing him aid in the war, the emperor consented to Frederick's
assuming the new title and dignity _in the Duchy of Prussia_, which,
unlike Brandenburg, did not form part of the empire.
Accordingly, early in the year 1701, Frederick, amidst imposing
ceremonies, was crowned and hailed as king at Königsberg. Hitherto he had
been Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia; now he is Elector of
Brandenburg and King of Prussia.
Thus was a new king born among the kings of Europe. Thus did the house of
Austria invest with royal dignity the rival house of Hohenzollern. The
event is a landmark in German, and even in European history. The cue of
German history from this on is the growth of the power of the Prussian
kings, and their steady advance to imperial honors, and to the control of
the affairs of the German race.
FREDERICK WILLIAM I. (1713-1740).-The son and successor of the first
Prussian king, known as Frederick William I., was one of the most
extraordinary characters in history. He was a strong, violent, brutal man,
full of the strangest freaks, yet in many respects just the man for the
times. He would tolerate no idlers. He carried a heavy cane, which he laid
upon the back of every unoccupied person he chanced to find, whether man,
woman, or child.
Frederick William had a mania for big soldiers. With infinite expense and
trouble he gathered a regiment of the biggest men he could find, which was
known as the "Potsdam Giants,"--a regiment numbering 2400 men, some of
whom were eight feet in height. Not only were the Goliaths of his own
dominions impressed into the service, but big men in all parts of Europe
were coaxed, bribed, or kidnapped by Frederick's recruiting officers. No
present was so acceptable to him as a giant, and by the gift of a six-
footer more than one prince bought his everlasting favor.
Rough, brutal tyrant though he was, Frederick William was an able and
energetic ruler. He did much to consolidate the power of Prussia, and at
his death in 1740 left to his successor a considerably extended dominion,
and a splendid army of 80,000 men.
FREDERICK THE GREAT (1740-1786).--Frederick William was followed by his
son Frederick II., to whom the world has agreed to give the title of
"Great." Frederick had a genius for war, and his father had prepared to
his hand one of the most efficient instruments of the art since the time
of the Roman legions. The two great wars in which he was engaged, and
which raised Prussia to the first rank among the military powers of
Europe, were the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War.
WAR OF THE AUSTRIAN SUCCESSION (1740-1748).--Through the death of Charles
VI. the Imperial office became vacant on the very year that Frederick II.
ascended the Prussian throne. Charles was the last of the direct male line
of the Hapsburgs, and disputes straightway arose respecting the
possessions of the House of Austria, which resulted in the long struggle
known as the War of the Austrian Succession.
Now, not long before the death of Charles, he had bound all the leading
powers of Europe in a sort of agreement called the Pragmatic Sanction, by
the terms of which, in case he should leave no son, all his hereditary
dominions--that is, the kingdom of Hungary, the kingdom of Bohemia, the
archduchy of Austria, and the other possessions of the House of Austria--
should be bestowed upon his daughter Maria Theresa. But no sooner was
Charles dead than a number of princes immediately laid claim to greater or
lesser portions of these territories. Prominent among these claimants was
Frederick of Prussia, who claimed Silesia. [Footnote: Charles Albert,
Elector of Bavaria, set up a claim to the Austrian States. France, ever
the sworn enemy of the House of Austria, lent her armies to aid the
Elector in making good his pretensions] Before Maria Theresa could arm in
defence of her dominions, Frederick pushed his army into Silesia and took
forcible possession of it.
Queen Theresa, thus stripped of a large part of her dominions, fled into
Hungary, and with all of a beautiful woman's art of persuasion appealed to
her Hungarian subjects to avenge her wrongs. Her unmerited sufferings, her
beauty, her tears, the little princess in her arms, stirred the resentment
and kindled the ardent loyalty of the Hungarian nobles, and with one
voice, as they rang their swords in their scabbards, they swore to support
the cause of their queen with their estates and their lives. England and
Sardinia also threw themselves into the contest on Maria Theresa's side.
The war lasted until 1748, when it was closed by the Peace of Aix-la-
Chapelle, which left Silesia in the hands of Frederick.
THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR (1756-1763).--The eight years of peace which followed
the war of the Austrian Succession were improved by Frederick in
developing the resources of his kingdom and perfecting the organization
and discipline of his army, and by Maria Theresa in forming a league of
the chief European powers against the unscrupulous despoiler of her
dominions. France, Russia, Poland, Saxony, and Sweden, all entered into an
alliance with the queen. Frederick could at first find no ally save
England,--towards the close of the struggle Russia came to his side,--so
that he was left almost alone to fight the combined armies of the
Continent.
At first the fortunes of the war were all on Frederick's side. In the
celebrated battles of Rossbach, Leuthen, and Zorndorf, he defeated
successively the French, the Austrians, and the Russians, and startled all
Europe into an acknowledgment of the fact that the armies of Prussia had
at their head one of the greatest commanders of the world. His name became
a household word, and everybody coupled with it the admiring epithet of
"Great."
But fortune finally deserted him. In sustaining the unequal contest, his
dominions became drained of men. England withdrew her aid, and inevitable
ruin seemed to impend over his throne and kingdom. A change by death in
the government of Russia now put a new face upon Frederick's affairs. In
1762 Elizabeth of that country died, and Peter III., an ardent admirer of
Frederick, came to the throne, and immediately transferred the armies of
Russia from the side of the allies to that of Prussia. The alliance lasted
only a few months, Peter being deposed and murdered by his wife, who now
came to the throne as Catherine II. She reversed once more the policy of
the Government; but the temporary alliance had given Frederick a decisive
advantage, and the year following Peter's act, England and France were
glad to give over the struggle and sign the Peace of Paris (1763). Shortly
after this another peace (the Treaty of Hubertsburg) was arranged between
Austria and Prussia, and one of the most terrible wars that had ever
disturbed Europe was over. The most noteworthy result of the war was the
exalting of the Prussian kingdom to a most commanding position among the
European powers.
FREDERICK'S WORK: PRUSSIA MADE A NEW CENTRE OF GERMAN CRYSTALLIZATION.--
The all-important result of Frederick the Great's strong reign was the
making of Prussia the equal of Austria, and thereby the laying of the
basis of German unity. Hitherto Germany had been trying unsuccessfully to
concentrate about Austria; now there is a new centre of crystallization,
one that will draw to itself all the various elements of German
nationality. The history of Germany from this on is the story of the
rivalry of these two powers, with the final triumph of the kingdom of the
North, and the unification of Germany under her leadership, Austria being
pushed out as entitled to no part in the affairs of the Fatherland. This
story we shall tell in a subsequent chapter (see Chap. LXL).