the Great are his own works, which, in the words of Leopold von Ranke,
"deal with the politics and wars of the period with the greatest
possible objectivity, i.e. truthfulness, and form an imperishable
monument of his life and opinions." A magnificent edition of
Frederick's complete works was issued (1846-1857), at the instance of
Frederick William IV., under the supervision of the historian Johann
D. E. Preuss (1785-1868). It is in thirty volumes, of which six
contain verse, seven are historical, two philosophical, and three
military, twelve being made up of correspondence. So long as the
various state archives remained largely inaccessible historians relied
upon this as their chief authority. Among works belonging to this
period may be mentioned Thomas Carlyle, _History of Frederick II. of
Prussia_ (6 vols., London, 1858-1865); J. G. Droysen, _Friedrich der
Grosse_ (2 vols., Leipzig, 1874-1876, forming part V. of his
_Geschichte der preussischen Politik_); Ranke, _Friedrich II., Koenig
von Preussen_ (_Werke_, vols. li. and lii.). A great stimulus to the
study of Frederick's history has since been given by the publication
of collections of documents preserved in various archives. Of these
the most important is the great official edition of Frederick's
political correspondence (Berlin, 1879), of which the thirty-first
vol. appeared in 1906. Of later works, based on modern research, may
be mentioned R. Koser, _Koenig Friedrich der Grosse_, Bd. 2 (Stuttgart,
1893 and 1903; 3rd ed., 1905); Bourdeau, _Le Grand Frederic_ (2 vols.,
Paris, 1900-1902); L. Paul-Dubois, _Frederic le Grand, d'apres sa
correspondance politique_ (Paris, 1903); W. F. Reddaway, _Frederick
the Great and the Rise of Prussia_ (London, 1904). Of the numerous
special studies may be noticed E. Zeller, _Friedrich der Grosse als
Philosoph_ (Berlin, 1886); H. Pigge, _Die Staatstheorie Friedrichs des
Grossen_ (Muenster, 1904); T. von Bernhardi, _Friedrich der Grosse als
Feldherr_ (2 vols., Berlin, 1881); Ernest Lavisse, _La Jeunesse du
Grand Frederic_ (Paris, 1891, 3rd ed., 1899; Eng. transl., London,
1891); R. Brode, _Friedrich der Grosse und der Konflikt mit seinem
Vater_ (Leipzig, 1904); W. von Bremen, _Friedrich der Grosse_ (Bd. ii.
of _Erzieher des preussischen Heeres_, Berlin, 1905); G. Winter,
_Friedrich der Grosse_ (3 vols. in _Geisteshelden_ series, Berlin,
1906); _Dreissig Jahre am Hofe Friedrichs des Grossen_. _Aus den
Tagebuechern des Reichsgrafen Ahasuerus Heinrich von Lehndorff,
Kammerherrn der Koenigin Elisabett Christine von Preussen_ (Gotha,
1907). The great work on the wars of Frederick is that issued by the
Prussian General Staff: _Die Kriege Friedrichs des Grossen_ (12 vols.
in three parts, Berlin, 1890-1904). For a full list of other works see
Dahlmann-Waitz, _Quellenkunde_ (Leipzig, 1906). (J. Si.; W. A. P.).
FREDERICK III. (1831-1888), king of Prussia and German emperor, was born
at Potsdam on the 18th of October 1831, being the eldest son of Prince
William of Prussia, afterwards first German emperor, and the princess
Augusta. He was carefully educated, and in 1849-1850 studied at the
university of Bonn. The next years were spent in military duties and in
travels, in which he was accompanied by Moltke. In 1851 he visited
England on the occasion of the Great Exhibition, and in 1855 became
engaged to Victoria, princess royal of Great Britain, to whom he was
married in London on the 25th of January 1858. On the death of his uncle
in 1861 and the accession of his father, Prince Frederick William, as he
was then always called, became crown prince of Prussia. His education,
the influence of his mother, and perhaps still more that of his wife's
father, the Prince Consort, had made him a strong Liberal, and he was
much distressed at the course of events in Prussia after the appointment
of Bismarck as minister. He was urged by the Liberals to put himself
into open opposition to the government; this he refused to do, but he
remonstrated privately with the king. In June 1863, however, he publicly
dissociated himself from the press ordinances which had just been
published. He ceased to attend meetings of the council of state, and was
much away from Berlin. The opposition of the crown prince to the
ministers was increased during the following year, for he was a warm
friend of the prince of Augustenburg, whose claims to Schleswig-Holstein
Bismarck refused to support. During the war with Denmark he had his
first military experience, being attached to the staff of Marshal von
Wrangel; he performed valuable service in arranging the difficulties
caused by the disputes between the field marshal and the other officers,
and was eventually given a control over him. After the war he continued
to support the prince of Augustenburg and was strongly opposed to the
war with Austria. During the campaign of 1866 he received the command of
an army consisting of four army corps; he was assisted by General von
Blumenthal, as chief of the staff, but took a very active part in
directing the difficult operations by which his army fought its way
through the mountains from Silesia to Bohemia, fighting four engagements
in three days, and showed that he possessed genuine military capacity.
In the decisive battle of Koeniggraetz the arrival of his army on the
field of battle, after a march of nearly 20 m., secured the victory.
During the negotiations which ended the war he gave valuable assistance
by persuading the king to accept Bismarck's policy as regards peace with
Austria. From this time he was very anxious to see the king of Prussia
unite the whole of Germany, with the title of emperor, and was impatient
of the caution with which Bismarck proceeded. In 1869 he paid a visit to
Italy, and in the same year was present at the opening of the Suez
Canal; on his way he visited the Holy Land.
He played a conspicuous part in the year 1870-1871, being appointed to
command the armies of the Southern States, General Blumenthal again
being his chief of the staff; his troops won the victory of Woerth, took
an important part in the battle of Sedan, and later in the siege of
Paris. The popularity he won was of political service in preparing the
way for the union of North and South Germany, and he was the foremost
advocate of the imperial idea at the Prussian court. During the years
that followed, little opportunity for political activity was open to
him. He and the crown princess took a great interest in art and
industry, especially in the royal museums; and the excavations conducted
at Olympia and Pergamon with such great results were chiefly due to him.
The crown princess was a keen advocate of the higher education of women,
and it was owing to her exertions that the Victoria Lyceum at Berlin
(which was named after her) was founded. In 1878, when the emperor was
incapacitated by the shot of an assassin, the prince acted for some
months as regent. His palace was the centre of all that was best in the
literary and learned society of the capital. He publicly expressed his
disapproval of the attacks on the Jews in 1878; and the coalition of
Liberal parties founded in 1884 was popularly known as the "crown
prince's party," but he scrupulously refrained from any act that might
embarrass his father's government. For many reasons the accession of the
prince was looked forward to with great hope by a large part of the
nation. Unfortunately he was attacked by cancer in the throat; he spent
the winter of 1887-1888 at San Remo; in January 1888 the operation of
tracheotomy had to be performed. On the death of his father, which took
place on the 9th of March, he at once journeyed to Berlin; but his days
were numbered, and he came to the throne only to die. In these
circumstances his accession could not have the political importance
which would otherwise have attached to it, though it was disfigured by a
vicious outburst of party passion in which the names of the emperor and
the empress were constantly misused. While the Liberals hoped the
emperor would use his power for some signal declaration of policy, the
adherents of Bismarck did not scruple to make bitter attacks on the
empress. The emperor's most important act was a severe reprimand
addressed to Herr von Puttkamer, the reactionary minister of the
interior, which caused his resignation; in the distribution of honours
he chose many who belonged to classes and parties hitherto excluded from
court favour. A serious difference of opinion with the chancellor
regarding the proposal for a marriage between Prince Alexander of
Battenberg and the princess Victoria of Prussia was arranged by the
intervention of Queen Victoria, who visited Berlin to see her dying
son-in-law. He expired at Potsdam on the 15th of June 1888, after a
reign of ninety-nine days.
After the emperor's death Professor Geffcken, a personal friend,
published in the _Deutsche Rundschau_ extracts from the diary of the
crown prince containing passages which illustrated his differences with
Bismarck during the war of 1870. The object was to injure Bismarck's
reputation, and a very unseemly dispute ensued. Bismarck at first, in a
letter addressed to the new emperor, denied the authenticity of the
extracts on the ground that they were unworthy of the crown prince.
Geffcken was then arrested and imprisoned. He had undoubtedly shown that
he was an injudicious friend, for the diary proved that the prince, in
his enthusiasm for German unity, had allowed himself to consider
projects which would have seriously compromised the relations of Prussia
and Bavaria. The treatment of the crown prince's illness also gave rise
to an acrimonious controversy. It arose from the fact that as early as
May 1887 the German physicians recognized the presence of cancer in the
throat, but Sir Morell Mackenzie, the English specialist who was also
consulted, disputed the correctness of this diagnosis, and advised that
the operation for removal of the larynx, which they had recommended,
should not be undertaken. His advice was followed, and the differences
between the medical men were made the occasion for a considerable
display of national and political animosity.
The empress VICTORIA, who, after the death of her husband, was known as
the empress Frederick, died on the 5th of August 1901 at the castle of
Friedrichskron, Cronberg, near Homburg v. d. H., where she spent her
last years. Of the emperor's children two, Prince Sigismund (1864-1866)
and Prince Waldemar (1869-1879), died in childhood. He left two sons,
William, his successor as emperor, and Henry, who adopted a naval
career. Of his daughters, the princess Charlotte was married to Bernard,
hereditary prince of Meiningen; the princess Victoria to Prince Adolf of
Schaumburg-Lippe; the princess Sophie to the duke of Sparta, crown
prince of Greece; and the princess Margaretha to Prince Friedrich Karl
of Hesse.
AUTHORITIES.--M. von Poschinger, _Kaiser Friedrich_ (3 vols., Berlin,
1898-1900). Adapted into English by Sidney Whitman, _Life of the
Emperor Frederick_ (1901). See also Bismarck, _Reflections and
Reminiscences_; Rennell Rodd, _Frederick, Crown Prince and Emperor_
(1888); Gustav Freytag, _Der Kronprinz und die deutsche Kaiserkrone_
(1889; English translation, 1890); Otto Richter, _Kaiser Friedrich
III._ (2nd ed., Berlin, 1903). For his illness, the official
publications, published both in English and German: _Die Krankheit
Kaiser Friedrichs III._ (Berlin, 1888), and Morell Mackenzie, _The
Fatal Illness of Frederick the Noble_ (1888). Most of the copies of
the _Deutsche Rundschau_ containing the extracts from the crown
prince's diary were confiscated, but there is an English edition,
published in 1889. (J. W. He.)
FREDERICK III. (1272-1337), king of Sicily, third son of King Peter of
Aragon and Sicily, and of Constance, daughter of Manfred. Peter died in
1285, leaving Aragon to his eldest son Alphonso, and Sicily to his
second son James. When Alphonso died in 1291 James became king of
Aragon, and left his brother Frederick as regent of Sicily. The war
between the Angevins and the Aragonese for the possession of Sicily was
still in progress, and although the Aragonese were successful in Italy,
James's position in Spain became very insecure to internal troubles and
French attacks. Peace negotiations were begun with Charles II. of Anjou,
but were interrupted by the successive deaths of two popes; at last
under the auspices of Boniface VIII. James concluded a shameful treaty,
by which, in exchange for being left undisturbed in Aragon and promised
possession of Sardinia and Corsica, he gave up Sicily to the Church, for
whom it was to be held by the Angevins (1295). The Sicilians refused to
be made over once more to the hated French whom they had expelled in
1282, and found a national leader in the regent Frederick. In vain the
pope tried to bribe him with promises and dignities; he was determined
to stand by his subjects, and was crowned king by the nobles at Palermo
in 1296. Young, brave and handsome, he won the love and devotion of his
people, and guided them through the long years of storm and stress with
wisdom and ability. Although the second Frederick of Sicily, he called
himself third, being the third son of King Peter. He reformed the
administration and extended the powers of the Sicilian parliament, which
was composed of the barons, the prelates and the representatives of the
towns.
His refusal to comply with the pope's injunctions led to a renewal of
the war. Frederick landed in Calabria, where he seized several towns,
encouraged revolt in Naples, negotiated with the Ghibellines of Tuscany
and Lombardy, and assisted the house of Colonna against Pope Boniface.
In the meanwhile James, who received many favours from the Church,
married his sister Yolanda to Robert, the third son of Charles II.
Unfortunately for Frederick, a part of the Aragonese nobles of Sicily
favoured King James, and both John of Procida and Ruggiero di Lauria,
the heroes of the war of the Vespers, went over to the Angevins, and the
latter completely defeated the Sicilian fleet off Cape Orlando.
Charles's sons Robert and Philip landed in Sicily, but after capturing
Catania were defeated by Frederick, Philip being taken prisoner (1299),
while several Calabrian towns were captured by the Sicilians. For two
years more the fighting continued with varying success, until Charles of
Valois, who had been sent by Boniface to invade Sicily, was forced to
sue for peace, his army being decimated by the plague, and in August
1302 the treaty of Caltabellotta was signed, by which Frederick was
recognized king of Trinacria (the name Sicily was not to be used) for
his lifetime, and was to marry Eleonora, the daughter of Charles II.; at
his death the kingdom was to revert to the Angevins (this clause was
inserted chiefly to save Charles's face), and his children would receive
compensation elsewhere. Boniface tried to induce King Charles to break
the treaty, but the latter was only too anxious for peace, and finally
in May 1303 the pope ratified it, Frederick agreeing to pay him a
tribute.
For a few years Sicily enjoyed peace, and the kingdom was reorganized.
But on the descent of the emperor Henry VII., Frederick entered into an
alliance with him, and in violation of the pact of Caltabellotta made
war on the Angevins again (1313) and captured Reggio. He set sail for
Tuscany to cooperate with the emperor, but on the latter's death (1314)
he returned to Sicily. Robert, who had succeeded Charles II. in 1309,
made several raids into the island, which suffered much material injury.
A truce was concluded in 1317, but as the Sicilians helped the north
Italian Ghibellines in the attack on Genoa, and Frederick seized some
Church revenues for military purposes, the pope (John XXII.)
excommunicated him and placed the island under an interdict (1321) which
lasted until 1335. An Angevin fleet and army, under Robert's son
Charles, was defeated at Palermo by Giovanni da Chiaramonte in 1325, and
in 1326 and 1327 there were further Angevin raids on the island, until
the descent into Italy of the emperor Louis the Bavarian distracted
their attention. The election of Pope Benedict XII. (1334), who was
friendly to Frederick, promised a respite; but after fruitless
negotiations the war broke out once more, and Chiaramonte went over to
Robert, owing to a private feud. In 1337 Frederick died at Paternione,
and in spite of the peace of Caltabellotta his son Peter succeeded.
Frederick's great merit was that during his reign the Aragonese dynasty
became thoroughly national and helped to weld the Sicilians into a
united people.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--G. M. Mira, _Bibliografia Siciliana_ (Palermo, 1875);
of the contemporary authorities N. Speciale's "Historia Sicula" (in
Muratori's _Script. rer. ital._ x.) is the most important; for the
first years of Frederick's reign see M. Amari, _La Guerra del Vespro
Siciliano_ (Florence, 1876), and F. Lanzani, _Storia dei Comuni
italiani_ (Milan, 1882); for the latter years C. Cipolla, _Storia
delle signorie italiane_ (Milan, 1881); also Testa, _Vita di Federigo
di Sicilia_. (L. V.)
FREDERICK I. (c. 1371-1440), elector of Brandenburg, founder of the
greatness of the House of Hohenzollern, was a son of Frederick V.,
burgrave of Nuremberg, and first came into prominence by saving the life
of Sigismund, king of Hungary, at the battle of Nicopolis in 1396. In
1397 he became burgrave of Nuremberg, and after his father's death in
1398 he shared Ansbach, Bayreuth, and the smaller possessions of the
family, with his only brother John, but became sole ruler after his
brother's death in 1420. Loyal at first to King Wenceslaus, the king's
neglect of Germany drove Frederick to take part in his deposition in
1400, and in the election of Rupert III., count palatine of the Rhine,
whom he accompanied to Italy in the following year. In 1401 he married
Elizabeth, or Elsa, daughter of Frederick, duke of Bavaria-Landshut (d.
1393), and after spending some time in family and other feuds, took
service again with King Sigismund in 1409, whom he assisted in his
struggle with the Hungarian rebels. The double election to the German
throne in 1410 first brought Frederick into relation with Brandenburg.
Sigismund, anxious to obtain another vote in the electoral college,
appointed Frederick to exercise the Brandenburg vote on his behalf, and
it was largely through his efforts that Sigismund was chosen German
king. Frederick then passed some time as administrator of Brandenburg,
where he restored a certain degree of order, and was formally invested
with the electorate and margraviate by Sigismund at Constance on the
18th of April 1417 (see BRANDENBURG). He took part in the war against
the Hussites, but became estranged from Sigismund when in 1423 the king
invested Frederick of Wettin, margrave of Meissen, with the vacant
electoral duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg. In 1427 he sold his rights as
burgrave to the town of Nuremberg, and he was a prominent member of the
band of electors who sought to impose reforms upon Sigismund. After
having been an unsuccessful candidate for the German throne in 1438,
Frederick was chosen king of Bohemia in 1440, but declined the proffered
honour. He took part in the election of Frederick III. as German king
in 1440, and died at Radolzburg on the 21st of September in the same
year. In 1902 a bronze statue was erected to his memory at Friesack, and
there is also a marble one of the elector in the "Siegesallee" at
Berlin.
See A. F. Riedel, _Zehn Jahre aus der Geschichte der Ahnherren des
preussischen Koenigshauses_ (Berlin, 1851); E. Brandenburg, _Koenig
Sigmund und Kurfuerst Friedrich I. von Brandenburg_ (Berlin, 1891); and
O. Franklin, _Die deutsche Politik Friedrichs I. Kurfuersten von
Brandenburg_ (Berlin, 1851).
FREDERICK I. (1425-1476), elector palatine of the Rhine, surnamed "the
Victorious," and called by his enemies "wicked Fritz," second son of the
elector palatine Louis III., was born on the 1st of August 1425. He
inherited a part of the Palatinate on his father's death in 1439, but
soon surrendered this inheritance to his elder brother, the elector
Louis IV. On his brother's death in 1449, however, he became guardian of
the young elector Philip, and ruler of the land. In 1451 he persuaded
the nobles to recognize him as elector, on condition that Philip should
be his successor, a scheme which was disliked by the emperor Frederick
III. The elector was successful in various wars with neighbouring
rulers, and was a leading member of the band of princes who formed plans
to secure a more efficient government for Germany, and even discussed
the deposition of Frederick III. Frederick himself was mentioned as a
candidate for the German throne, but the jealousies of the princes
prevented any decisive action, and soon became so acute that in 1459
they began to fight among themselves. In alliance with Louis IX., duke
of Bavaria-Landshut, Frederick gained several victories during the
struggle, and in 1462 won a decisive battle at Seckenheim over Ulrich
V., count of Wuerttemberg. In 1472 the elector married Clara Tott, or
Dett, the daughter of an Augsburg citizen, and by her he had two sons,
Frederick, who died during his father's lifetime, and Louis (d. 1524),
who founded the line of the counts of Loewenstein. He died at Heidelberg
on the 12th of December 1476, and was succeeded, according to the
compact, by his nephew Philip. Frederick was a cultured prince, and, in
spite of his warlike career, a wise and intelligent ruler. He added
largely to the area of the Palatinate, and did not neglect to further
its internal prosperity.
See N. Feeser, _Friedrich der Siegreiche, Kurfuerst von der Pfalz_
(Neuburg, 1880); C. J. Kremer, _Geschichte des Kurfuersten Friedrichs
I. von der Pfalz_ (Leipzig, 1765); and K. Menzel, _Kurfuerst Friedrich
der Siegreiche von der Pfalz_ (Munich, 1861).
FREDERICK II. (1482-1556), surnamed "the Wise," elector palatine of the
Rhine, fourth son of the elector Philip, was bom on the 9th of December
1482. Of an active and adventurous temperament, he fought under the
emperor Maximilian I. in 1508, and afterwards served the Habsburgs
loyally in other ways. He worked to secure the election of Charles,
afterwards the emperor Charles V., as the successor of Maximilian in
1519; fought in two campaigns against the Turks; and being disappointed
in his hope of obtaining the hand of one of the emperor's sisters,
married in 1535 Dorothea (d. 1580), daughter of Christian II., who had
been driven from the Danish throne. The Habsburgs promised their aid in
securing this crown for Frederick, but, like many previous promises made
to him, this came to nothing. Having spent his time in various parts of
Europe, and incurred heavy debts on account of his expensive tastes,
Frederick became elector palatine by the death of his brother, Louis V.,
in March 1544. With regard to the religious troubles of Germany, he took
up at first the role of a mediator, but in 1545 he joined the league of
Schmalkalden, and in 1546 broke definitely with the older faith. He gave
a little assistance to the league in its war with Charles, but soon
submitted to the emperor, accepted the _Interim_ issued from Augsburg in
May 1548, and afterwards acted in harmony with Charles. The elector died
on the 26th of February 1556, and as he left no children was succeeded
by his nephew, Otto Henry (1502-1559). He was a great benefactor to the
university of Heidelberg.
Frederick's life, _Annales de vita et rebus gestis Friderici II.
electoris palatini_ (Frankfort, 1624), was written by his secretary
Hubert Thomas Leodius; this has been translated into German by E. von
Buelow (Breslau, 1849). See also Rott, _Friedrich II. von der Pfalz und
die Reformation_ (Heidelberg, 1904).
FREDERICK III. (1515-1576), called "the Pious," elector palatine of the
Rhine, eldest son of John II., count palatine of Simmern, was born at
Simmern on the 14th of February 1515. In 1537 he married Maria (d.
1567), daughter of Casimir, prince of Bayreuth, and in 1546, mainly as a
result of this union, adopted the reformed doctrines, which had already
made considerable progress in the Palatinate. He lived in comparative
obscurity and poverty until 1557, when he became count palatine of
Simmern by his father's death, succeeding his kinsman, Otto Henry
(1502-1559), as elector palatine two years later. Although inclined to
the views of Calvin rather than to those of Luther, the new elector
showed great anxiety to unite the Protestants; but when these efforts
failed, and the breach between the followers of the two reformers became
wider, he definitely adopted Calvinism. This form of faith was quickly
established in the Palatinate; in its interests the "Heidelberg
Catechism" was drawn up in 1563; and Catholics and Lutherans were
persecuted alike, while the churches were denuded of all their
ornaments. The Lutheran princes wished to root out Calvinism in the
Palatinate, but were not willing to exclude the elector from the
benefits of the religious peace of Augsburg, which were confined to the
adherents of the confession of Augsburg, and the matter came before the
diet in 1566. Boldly defending his position, Frederick refused to give
way an inch, and as the Lutherans were unwilling to proceed to
extremities the emperor Maximilian II. could only warn him to mend his
ways. The elector was an ardent supporter of the Protestants abroad,
whom, rather than the German Lutherans, he regarded as his
co-religionists. He aided the Huguenots in France and the insurgents in
the Netherlands with men and money; one of his sons, John Casimir
(1543-1592), took a prominent part in the French wars of religion, while
another, Christopher, was killed in 1574 fighting for the Dutch at
Mooker Heath. In his later years Frederick failed in his efforts to
prevent the election of a member of the Habsburg family as Roman king,
to secure the abrogation of the "ecclesiastical reservation" clause in
the peace of Augsburg, or to obtain security for Protestants in the
territories of the spiritual princes. He was assiduous in caring for the
material, moral and educational welfare of his electorate, and was a
benefactor to the university of Heidelberg. The elector died at
Heidelberg on the 26th of October 1576, and was succeeded by his elder
surviving son, Louis (1539-1583), who had offended his father by
adopting Lutheranism.
See A. Kluckhohn, _Friedrich der Fromme_ (Noerdlingen, 1877-1879); and
_Briefe Friedrichs des Frommen_, edited by Kluckhohn (Brunswick,
1868-1872).
FREDERICK IV. (1574-1610), elector palatine of the Rhine, only surviving
son of the elector Louis VI., was born at Amberg on the 5th of March
1574. His father died in October 1583, when the young elector came under
the guardianship of his uncle John Casimir, an ardent Calvinist, who, in
spite of the wishes of the late elector, a Lutheran, had his nephew
educated in his own form of faith. In January 1592, on the death of John
Casimir, Frederick undertook the government of the Palatinate, and
continued the policy of his uncle, hostility to the Catholic Church and
the Habsburgs, and co-operation with foreign Protestants. He was often
in communication with Henry of Navarre, afterwards Henry IV. of France,
and like him was unremitting in his efforts to conclude a league among
the German Protestants, while he sought to weaken the Habsburgs by
refusing aid for the Turkish War. After many delays and disappointments
the Union of Evangelical Estates was actually formed in May 1608, under
the leadership of the elector, and he took a prominent part in directing
the operations of the union until his death, which occurred on the 19th
of September 1610. Frederick was very extravagant, and liked to surround
himself with pomp and luxury. He married in 1593 Louise, daughter of
William the Silent, prince of Orange, and was succeeded by Frederick,
the elder of his two sons.
See M. Ritter, _Geschichte der deutschen Union_ (Schaffhausen,
1867-1873); and L. Haeusser, _Geschichte der rheinischen Pfalz_
(Heidelberg, 1856).
FREDERICK V. (1596-1632), elector palatine of the Rhine and king of
Bohemia, son of the elector Frederick IV. by his wife, Louisa Juliana,
daughter of William the Silent, prince of Orange, was born at Amberg on
the 26th of August 1596. He became elector on his father's death in
September 1610, and was under the guardianship of his kinsman, John II.,
count palatine of Zweibruecken (d. 1635), until he was declared of age in
July 1614. Having received a good education, Frederick had married
Elizabeth, daughter of the English king James I., in February 1613, and
was the recognized head of the Evangelical Union founded by his father
to protect the interests of the Protestants. In 1619 he stepped into a
larger arena. Before this date the estates of Bohemia, Protestant in
sympathy and dissatisfied with the rule of the Habsburgs, had been in
frequent communication with the elector palatine, and in August 1619, a
few months after the death of the emperor Matthias, they declared his
successor, Ferdinand, afterwards the emperor Ferdinand II., deposed, and
chose Frederick as their king. After some hesitation the elector yielded
to the entreaties of Christian I., prince of Anhalt (1568-1630), and
other sanguine supporters, and was crowned king of Bohemia at Prague on
the 4th of November 1619. By this time the emperor Ferdinand was able to
take the aggressive, while Frederick, disappointed at receiving no
assistance either from England or from the Union, had few soldiers and
little money. Consequently on the 8th of November, four days after his
coronation, his forces were easily routed by the imperial army under
Tilly at the White Hill, near Prague, and his short reign in Bohemia
ended abruptly. Soon afterwards the Palatinate was overrun by the
Spaniards and Bavarians, and after a futile attempt to dislodge them,
Frederick, called in derision the "Winter King," sought refuge in the
Netherlands. Having been placed under the imperial ban his electorate
was given in 1623 to Maximilian I. of Bavaria, who also received the
electoral dignity.
The remainder of Frederick's life was spent in comparative obscurity,
although his restoration was a constant subject of discussion among
European diplomatists. He died at Mainz on the 29th of November 1632,
having had a large family, among his children being Charles Louis
(1617-1680), who regained the Palatinate at the peace of Westphalia in
1648, and Sophia, who married Ernest Augustus, afterwards elector of
Hanover, and was the mother of George I., king of Great Britain. His
third son was Prince Rupert, the hero of the English civil war, and
another son was Prince Maurice (1620-1652), who also assisted his uncle
Charles I. during the civil war. Having sailed with Rupert to the West
Indies, Maurice was lost at sea in September 1652.
In addition to the numerous works which treat of the outbreak of the
Thirty Years' War see A. Gindely, _Friedrich V. von der Pfalz_
(Prague, 1884); J. Krebs, _Die Politik der evangelischen Union im
Jahre 1618_ (Breslau, 1890-1901); M. Ritter, "Friedrich V.," in the
_Allgemeine deutsche Biographie_, Band vii. (Leipzig, 1878); and
_Deutsche Lieder auf den Winterkoenig_, edited by R. Wolkan (Prague,
1899).
FREDERICK I. (1369-1428), surnamed "the Warlike," elector and duke of
Saxony, was the eldest son of Frederick "the Stern," count of Osterland,
and Catherine, daughter and heiress of Henry VIII., count of Coburg. He
was born at Altenburg on the 29th of March 1369, and was a member of the
family of Wettin. When his father died in 1381 some trouble arose over
the family possessions, and in the following year an arrangement was
made by which Frederick and his brothers shared Meissen and Thuringia
with their uncles Balthasar and William. Frederick's brother George died
in 1402, and his uncle William in 1407. A further dispute then arose,
but in 1410 a treaty was made at Naumburg, when Frederick and his
brother William added the northern part of Meissen to their lands; and
in 1425 the death of William left Frederick sole ruler. In the German
town war of 1388 he assisted Frederick V. of Hohenzollern, burgrave of
Nuremberg, and in 1391 did the same for the Teutonic Order against
Ladislaus V., king of Poland and prince of Lithuania. He supported
Rupert III., elector palatine of the Rhine, in his struggle with King
Wenceslaus for the German throne, probably because Wenceslaus refused
to fulfil a promise to give him his sister Anna in marriage. The danger
to Germany from the Hussites induced Frederick to ally himself with the
German and Bohemian king Sigismund; and he took a leading part in the
war against them, during the earlier years of which he met with
considerable success. In the prosecution of this enterprise Frederick
spent large sums of money, for which he received various places in
Bohemia and elsewhere in pledge from Sigismund, who further rewarded him
in January 1423 with the vacant electoral duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg; and
Frederick's formal investiture followed at Ofen on the 1st of August
1425. Thus spurred to renewed efforts against the Hussites, the elector
was endeavouring to rouse the German princes to aid him in prosecuting
this war when the Saxon army was almost annihilated at Aussig on the
16th of August 1426. Returning to Saxony, Frederick died at Altenburg on
the 4th of January 1428, and was buried in the cathedral at Meissen. In
1402 he married Catherine of Brunswick, by whom he left four sons and
two daughters. In 1409, in conjunction with his brother William, he
founded the university of Leipzig, for the benefit of German students
who had just left the university of Prague. Frederick's importance as an
historical figure arises from his having obtained the electorate of
Saxe-Wittenberg for the house of Wettin, and transformed the margraviate
of Meissen into the territory which afterwards became the kingdom of
Saxony. In addition to the king of Saxony, the sovereigns of England and
of the Belgians are his direct descendants.
There is a life of Frederick by G. Spalatin in the _Scriptores rerum
Germanicarum praecipue Saxonicarum_, Band ii., edited by J. B. Mencke
(Leipzig, 1728-1730). See also C. W. Boettiger and Th. Flathe,
_Geschichte des Kurstaates und Koenigreichs Sachsen_ (Gotha,
1867-1873); and J. G. Horn, _Lebens- und Heldengeschichte Friedrichs
des Streitbaren_ (Leipzig, 1733).
FREDERICK II. (1411-1464), called "the Mild," elector and duke of
Saxony, eldest son of the elector Frederick I., was born on the 22nd of
August 1411. He succeeded his father as elector in 1428, but shared the
family lands with his three brothers, and was at once engaged in
defending Saxony against the attacks of the Hussites. Freed from these
enemies about 1432, and turning his attention to increasing his
possessions, he obtained the burgraviate of Meissen in 1439, and some
part of Lower Lusatia after a struggle with Brandenburg about the same
time. In 1438 it was decided that Frederick, and not his rival, Bernard
IV., duke of Saxe-Lauenburg, was entitled to exercise the Saxon
electoral vote at the elections for the German throne; and the elector
then aided Albert II. to secure this dignity, performing a similar
service for his own brother-in-law, Frederick, afterwards the emperor
Frederick III., two years later. Family affairs, meanwhile, occupied
Frederick's attention. One brother, Henry, having died in 1435, and
another, Sigismund (d. 1463), having entered the church and become
bishop of Wuerzburg, Frederick and his brother William (d. 1482) were the
heirs of their childless cousin, Frederick "the Peaceful," who ruled
Thuringia and other parts of the lands of the Wettins. On his death in
1440 the brothers divided Frederick's territory, but this arrangement
was not satisfactory, and war broke out between them in 1446. Both
combatants obtained extraneous aid, but after a desolating struggle
peace was made in January 1451, when William received Thuringia, and
Frederick Altenburg and other districts. The remainder of the elector's
reign was uneventful, and he died at Leipzig on the 7th of September
1464. By his wife, Margaret (d. 1486), daughter of Ernest, duke of
Styria, he left two sons and four daughters. In July 1455 occurred the
celebrated _Prinzenraub_, the attempt of a knight named Kunz von
Kaufungen (d. 1455) to abduct Frederick's two sons, Ernest and Albert.
Having carried them off from Altenburg, Kunz was making his way to
Bohemia when the plot was accidentally discovered and the princes
restored.
See W. Schaefer, _Der Montag vor Kiliani_ (1855); J. Gersdorf, _Einige
Aktenstuecke zur Geschichte des saechsischen Prinzenraubes_ (1855); and
T. Carlyle, _Critical and Miscellaneous Essays_, vol. iv. (London,
1899).
FREDERICK III. (1463-1525), called "the Wise," elector of Saxony, eldest
son of Ernest, elector of Saxony, and Elizabeth, daughter of Albert,
duke of Bavaria-Munich (d. 1508), was born at Torgau, and succeeded his
father as elector in 1486. Retaining the government of Saxony in his own
hands, he shared the other possessions of his family with his brother
John, called "the Stedfast" (1468-1532). Frederick was among the princes
who pressed the need of reform upon the German king Maximilian I. in
1495, and in 1500 he became president of the newly-formed council of
regency (_Reichsregiment_). He took a genuine interest in learning; was
a friend of Georg Spalatin; and in 1502 founded the university of
Wittenberg, where he appointed Luther and Melanchthon to professorships.
In 1493 he had gone as a pilgrim to Jerusalem, and had been made a
knight of the Holy Sepulchre; but, although he remained throughout life
an adherent of the older faith, he seems to have been drawn into
sympathy with the reformers, probably through his connexion with the
university of Wittenberg. In 1520 he refused to put into execution the
papal bull which ordered Luther's writings to be burned and the reformer
to be put under restraint or sent to Rome; and in 1521, after Luther had
been placed under the imperial ban by the diet at Worms, the elector
caused him to be conveyed to his castle at the Wartburg, and afterwards
protected him while he attacked the enemies of the Reformation. In 1519,
Frederick, who alone among the electors refused to be bribed by the
rival candidates for the imperial throne, declined to be a candidate for
this high dignity himself, and assisted to secure the election of
Charles V. He died unmarried at Langau, near Annaberg, on the 5th of May
1525.
See G. Spalatin, _Das Leben und die Zeitgeschichte Friedrichs des
Weisen_, edited by C. G. Neudecker and L. Preller (Jena, 1851); M. M.
Tutzschmann, _Friedrich der Weise, Kurfuerst von Sachsen_ (Grimma,
1848); and T. Kolde, _Friedrich der Weise und die Anfaenge der
Reformation_ (Erlangen, 1881).
FREDERICK, a city and the county-seat of Frederick county, Maryland,
U.S.A., on Carroll's Creek, a tributary of the Monocacy, 61 m. by rail
W. by N. from Baltimore and 45 m. N.W. from Washington. Pop. (1890)
8193; (1900) 9296, of whom 1535 were negroes; (1910 census) 10,411. It
is served by the Baltimore & Ohio and the Northern Central railways, and
by two interurban electric lines. Immediately surrounding it is the rich
farming land of the Monocacy valley, but from a distance it appears to
be completely shut in by picturesque hills and mountains; to the E., the
Linga ore Hills; to the W., Catoctin Mountain; and to the S., Sugar Loaf
Mountain. It is built for the most part of brick and stone. Frederick is
the seat of the Maryland school for the deaf and dumb and of the Woman's
College of Frederick (1893; formerly the Frederick Female Seminary,
opened in 1843), which in 1907-1908 had 212 students, 121 of whom were
in the Conservatory of Music. Francis Scott Key and Roger Brooke Taney
were buried here, and a beautiful monument erected to the memory of Key
stands at the entrance to Mount Olivet cemetery. Frederick has a
considerable agricultural trade and is an important manufacturing
centre, its industries including the canning of fruits and vegetables,
and the manufacture of flour, bricks, brushes, leather goods and
hosiery. The total value of the factory product in 1905 was $1,937,921,
being 34.7% more than in 1900. The municipality owns and operates its
water-works and electric-lighting plant. Frederick, so named in honour
of Frederick Calvert, son and afterward successor of Charles, Lord
Baltimore, was settled by Germans in 1733, and was laid out as a town in
1745, but was not incorporated until 1817. Here in 1755 General Braddock
prepared for his disastrous expedition against the French at Fort
Duquesne (Pittsburg). During the Civil War the city was occupied on
different occasions by Unionists and Confederates, and was made famous
by Whittier's poem "Barbara Frietchie."
FREDERICK AUGUSTUS I. (1750-1827), king of Saxony, son of the elector
Frederick Christian, was born at Dresden on the 23rd of December 1750.
He succeeded his father under the guardianship of Prince Xavier in 1763,
and was declared of age in 1768. In the following year (January 17,
1769) he married Princess Maria Amelia, daughter of Duke Frederick of
Zweibruecken, by whom he had only one child, Princess Augusta (born June
21, 1782). One of his chief aims was the reduction of taxes and imposts
and of the army. He was always extremely methodical and conscientious,
and a good example to all his officials, whence his surname "the Just."
On account of the claims of his mother on the inheritance of her
brother, the elector of Bavaria, he sided with Frederick the Great in
the short Bavarian succession war of 1778 against Austria. At the peace
of Teschen, which concluded the war, he received 6 million florins,
which he employed partly in regaining those parts of his kingdom which
had been lost, and partly in favour of his relatives. In 1785 he joined
the league of German princes (_Deutscher Fuerstenbund_) formed by
Prussia, but without prejudice to his neutrality. Thus he remained
neutral during the quarrel between Austria and Prussia in 1790. In the
following year he declined the crown of Poland. He refused to join the
league against France (February 7, 1792), but when war was declared his
duty to the Empire necessitated his taking part in it. Even after the
peace of Basel (April 5, 1795) he continued the war. But when the French
army, during the following year, advanced into the heart of Germany, he
was compelled by General Jourdan to retreat (August 13, 1796). He
maintained his neutrality during the war between France and Austria in
1805, but in the following year he joined Prussia against France. After
the disastrous battle of Jena he concluded a treaty of peace with
Napoleon at Posen (December 11, 1806), and, assuming the title of king,
he joined the Confederation of the Rhine. But he did not alter the
constitution and administration of his new kingdom. After the peace of
Tilsit (July 9, 1807) he was created by Napoleon grand-duke of Warsaw,
but his sovereignty of Poland was little more than nominal. There was a
kind of friendship between Frederick Augustus and Napoleon. In 1809
Frederick Augustus fought with him against Austria. On several occasions
(1807, 1812, 1813) Napoleon was entertained at Dresden, and when, on his
return from his disastrous Russian campaign, he passed through Saxony by
Dresden (December 16, 1812), Frederick Augustus remained true to his
friend and ally. It was only during April 1813 that he made overtures to
Austria, but he soon afterwards returned to the side of the French. He
returned to Dresden on the 10th of May and was present at the terrible
battle of August 26 and 27, in which Napoleon's army and his own were
defeated. He fell into the hands of the Allies after their entry into
Leipzig on the 19th of October 1813; and, although he regained his
freedom after the congress of Vienna, he was compelled to give up the
northern part--three-fifths--of his kingdom to Prussia (May 21, 1814).
He entered Dresden on the 7th of July, and was enthusiastically welcomed
by his people. The remainder of his life was spent in repairing the
damages caused by the Napoleonic wars, in developing the agricultural,
commercial and industrial resources of his kingdom, reforming the
administration of justice, establishing hospitals and other charitable
institutions, encouraging art and science and promoting education. He
had a special interest in botany, and originated the beautiful park at
Pillnitz. His reign throughout was characterized by justice, probity,
moderation and prudence. He died on the 5th of May 1827.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--The earlier lives, by C. E. Weisse (1811), A. L.
Herrmann (1827), Poelitz (1830), are mere panegyrics. On the other side
see Flathe in _Allgemeine deutsche Biographie_, and Boettiger-Flathe,
_History of Saxony_ (2nd ed., 1867 ff.), vols. ii. and iii.; A.
Bonnefons, _Un Allie de Napoleon, Frederic Auguste, premier roi de
Saxe_ ... (Paris, 1902); Fritz Friedrich, _Politik Sachsens 1801-1803_
(1898); P. Ruehlmann, _Oeffentliche Meinung ... 1806-1813_ (1902). There
are many pamphlets bearing on the Saxon question and on Frederick
Augustus during the years 1814 and 1815. (J. Hn.)
FREDERICK AUGUSTUS II. (1797-1854), king of Saxony, eldest son of Prince
Maximilian and of Caroline Maria Theresa of Parma, was born on the 18th
of May 1797. The unsettled times in which his youth was passed
necessitated his frequent change of residence, but care was nevertheless
taken that his education should not be interrupted, and he also
acquired, through his journeys in foreign states (Switzerland 1818,
Montenegro 1838, England and Scotland 1844) and his intercourse with men
of eminence, a special taste for art and for natural science. He was
himself a good landscape-painter and had a fine collection of
engravings on copper. He was twice married--in 1819 (October 7) to the
duchess Caroline, fourth daughter of the emperor Francis I. of Austria
(d. May 22, 1832), and in 1833 (April 4) to Maria, daughter of
Maximilian I. of Bavaria. There were no children of either marriage.
During the government of his uncles (Frederick Augustus I. and Anthony)
he took no part in the administration of the country, though he was the
sole heir to the crown. In 1830 a rising in Dresden led to his being
named joint regent of the kingdom along with King Anthony on the 13th of
September; and in this position his popularity and his wise and liberal
reforms (for instance, in arranging public audiences) speedily quelled
all discontent. On the 6th of June 1836 he succeeded his uncle. Though
he administered the affairs of his kingdom with enlightened liberality
Saxony did not escape the political storms which broke upon Germany in
1848. He elected Liberal ministers, and he was at first in favour of the
programme of German unity put forward at Frankfort, but he refused to
acknowledge the democratic constitution of the German parliament. This
attitude led to the insurrection at Dresden in May 1849, which was
suppressed by the help of Prussian troops. From that time onward his
reign was tranquil and prosperous. Later Count Beust, leader of the
Austrian and feudal party in Saxony, became his principal minister and
guided his policy on most occasions. His death occurred accidentally
through the upsetting of his carriage near Brennbuehel, between Imst and
Wenns in Tirol (August 9, 1854). Frederick Augustus devoted his leisure
hours chiefly to the study of botany. He made botanical excursions into
different countries, and _Flora Marienbadensis, oder Pflanzen und
Gebirgsarten, gesammelt und beschrieben_, written by him, was published
at Prague by Kedler, 1837.
See Boettiger-Flathe, _History of Saxony_, vol. iii.; R. Freiherr von
Friesen, _Erinnerungen_ (2 vols., Dresden, 1881); F. F. Graf von
Beust, Aus _drei-viertel Jahrhunderten_ (2 vols., 1887); Flathe, in
_Allg. deutsche Biogr._ (J. Hn.)
FREDERICK CHARLES (FRIEDRICH KARL NIKOLAUS), PRINCE (1828-1885),
Prussian general field marshal, son of Prince Charles of Prussia and
grandson of King Frederick William III., was born in Berlin on the 20th
of March 1828. He was educated for the army, which he entered on his
tenth birthday as second lieutenant in the 14th Foot Guards. He became
first lieutenant in 1844, and in 1846 entered the university of Bonn,
where he stayed for two years, being accompanied throughout by Major von
Roon, afterwards the famous war minister. In 1848 he became a company
commander in his regiment, and soon afterwards served in the
Schleswig-Holstein War on the staff of Marshal von Wrangel, being
present at the battle of Schleswig (April 23, 1848). Later in 1848 he
became _Rittmeister_ in the _Garde du Corps_ cavalry regiment, and in
1849 major in the Guard Hussars. In this year the prince took part in
the campaign against the Baden insurgents, and was wounded at the action
of Wiesenthal while leading a desperate charge against entrenched
infantry. After this experience the wild courage of his youth gave place
to the unshakable resolution which afterwards characterized the prince's
generalship. In 1852 he became colonel, and in 1854 major-general and
commander of a cavalry brigade. In this capacity he was brought closely
in touch with General von Reyher, the chief of the general staff, and
with Moltke. He married, in the same year, Princess Marie Anne of
Anhalt. In 1857 he became commander of the 1st Guard Infantry division,
but very shortly afterwards, on account of disputes concerned with the
training methods then in force, he resigned the appointment.
In 1858 he visited France, where he minutely investigated the state of
the French army, but it was not long before he was recalled, for in
1859, in consequence of the Franco-Austrian War, Prussia mobilized her
forces, and Frederick Charles was made a divisional commander in the II.
army corps. In this post he was given the liberty of action which had
previously been denied to him. About this time (1860) the prince gave a
lecture to the officers of his command on the French army and its
methods, the substance of which (_Eine militaerische Denkschrift von
P.F.K._, Frankfort on Main, 1860) was circulated more widely than the
author intended, and in the French translation gave rise to much
indignation in France. In 1861 Frederick Charles became general of
cavalry. He was then commander of the III. (Brandenburg) army corps.
This post he held from 1860 to 1870, except during the campaigns of 1864
and 1866, and in it he displayed his real qualities as a troop leader.
His self-imposed task was to raise the military spirit of his troops to
the highest possible level, and ten years of his continuous and thorough
training brought the III. corps to a pitch of real efficiency which the
Guard corps alone, in virtue of its special recruiting powers, slightly
surpassed. Prince Frederick Charles' work was tested to the full when
von Alvensleben and the III. corps engaged the whole French army on the
16th of August 1870. In 1864 the prince once more fought against the
Danes under his old leader "Papa" Wrangel. The Prussian contingent under
Frederick Charles formed a corps of the allied army, and half of it was
drawn from the III. corps. After the storming of the Dueppel lines the
prince succeeded Wrangel in the supreme command, with Lieutenant-General
Freiherr von Moltke as his chief of staff. These two great soldiers then
planned and brilliantly carried out the capture of the island of Alsen,
after which the war came to an end.
In 1860 came the Seven Weeks' War with Austria. Prince Frederick Charles
was appointed to command the I. Army, which he led through the mountains
into Bohemia, driving before him the Austrians and Saxons to the upper
Elbe, where on the 3rd of July took place the decisive battle of
Koeniggraetz or Sadowa. This was brought on by the initiative of the
leader of the I. Army, which had to bear the brunt of the fighting until
the advance of the II. Army turned the Austrian flank. After the peace
he returned to the III. army corps, which he finally left, in July 1870,
when appointed to command the II. German Army in the war with France. In
the early days of the advance the prince's ruthless energy led to much
friction between the I. and II. Armies (see FRANCO-GERMAN WAR), while
his strategical mistakes seriously embarrassed the great headquarters
staff. The advance of the II. Army beyond the Saar to the Moselle and
from that river to the Meuse displayed more energy than careful
strategy, but herein at least the "Red Prince" (as he was called from
the colour of his favourite hussar uniform) was in thorough sympathy
with the king's headquarters on the one hand and the feelings of the
troops on the other. Then came the discovery that the French were not in
front, but to the right rear of the II. Army (August 16). Alvensleben
with the III. corps held the French to their ground at Vionville while
the prince hurried together his scattered forces. He himself directed
with superb tactical skill the last efforts of the Germans at Vionville,
and the victory of St Privat on the 18th was due to his leadership (see
METZ), which shone all the more by contrast with the failures of the I.
Army at Gravelotte. The prince was left in command of the forces which
blockaded Bazaine in Metz, and received the surrender of that place and
of the last remaining field army of the enemy. He was promoted at once
to the rank of general field marshal, and shortly afterwards the II.
Army was despatched to aid in crushing the newly organized army of the
French republic on the Loire. Here again he retrieved strategical errors
by energy and tactical skill, and his work was in the end crowned by the
victory of Le Mans on the 12th of January 1871. Of all the subordinate
leaders on the German side none enjoyed a greater and a better deserved
reputation than the Red Prince.
He now became inspector-general of the 3rd "army inspection," and a
little later inspector of cavalry, and in the latter post he was largely
instrumental in bringing the German cavalry to the degree of perfection
in manoeuvre and general training which it gradually attained in the
years after the war. He never ceased to improve his own soldierly
qualities by further study and by the conduct of manoevres on a large
scale. His sternness of character kept him aloof from the court and from
his own family, and he spent his leisure months chiefly on his various
country estates. In 1872 and in 1882 he travelled in the Mediterranean
and the Near East. He died on the 15th of June 1885 at Klein-Glienicke
near Berlin, and was buried at the adjacent church of Nikolskoe. His
third daughter, Princess Louise Margareta, was married, in March 1879,
to the duke of Connaught.
FREDERICK HENRY (1584-1647), prince of Orange, the youngest child of
William the Silent, was born at Delft about six months before his
father's assassination on the 29th of January 1584. His mother, Louise
de Coligny, was daughter of the famous Huguenot leader, Admiral de
Coligny, and was the fourth wife of William the Silent. The boy was
trained to arms by his elder brother, Maurice of Nassau, one of the
first generals of his age. On the death of Maurice in 1625, Frederick
Henry succeeded him in his paternal dignities and estates, and also in
the stadtholderates of the five provinces of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht,
Overysel and Gelderland, and in the important posts of captain and
admiral-general of the Union. Frederick Henry proved himself scarcely
inferior to his brother as a general, and a far more capable statesman
and politician. During twenty-two years he remained at the head of
affairs in the United Provinces, and in his time the power of the
stadtholderate reached its highest point. The "Period of Frederick
Henry," as it is usually styled by Dutch writers, is generally accounted
the golden age of the republic. It was marked by great military and
naval triumphs, by world-wide maritime and commercial expansion, and by
a wonderful outburst of activity in the domains of art and literature.
The chief military exploits of Frederick Henry were the sieges and
captures of Hertogenbosch in 1629, of Maastricht in 1632, of Breda in
1637, of Sas van Ghent in 1644, and of Hulst in 1645. During the greater
part of his administration the alliance with France against Spain had
been the pivot of Frederick Henry's foreign policy, but in his last
years he sacrificed the French alliance for the sake of concluding a
separate peace with Spain, by which the United Provinces obtained from
that power all the advantages for which they had for eighty years been
contending. Frederick Henry died on the 14th of March 1647, and was
buried with great pomp beside his father and brother at Delft. The
treaty of Muenster, ending the long struggle between the Dutch and the
Spaniards, was not actually signed until the 30th of January 1648, the
illness and death of the stadtholder having caused a delay in the
negotiations. Frederick Henry was married in 1625 to Amalia von Solms,
and left one son, William II. of Orange, and four daughters.
Frederick Henry left an account of his campaigns in his _Memoires de
Frederic Henri_ (Amsterdam, 1743). See _Cambridge Mod. Hist._ vol. iv.
chap. 24, and the bibliography on p. 931.
FREDERICK LOUIS (1707-1751), prince of Wales, eldest son of George II.,
was born at Hanover on the 20th of January 1707. After his grandfather,
George I., became king of Great Britain and Ireland in 1714, Frederick
was known as duke of Gloucester[1] and made a knight of the Garter,
having previously been betrothed to Wilhelmina Sophia Dorothea
(1709-1758), daughter of Frederick William I., king of Prussia, and
sister of Frederick the Great. Although he was anxious to marry this
lady, the match was rendered impossible by the dislike of George II. and
Frederick William for each other. Soon after his father became king in
1727 Frederick took up his residence in England and in 1729 was created
prince of Wales; but the relations between George II. and his son were
very unfriendly, and there existed between them the jealousy which
Stubbs calls the "incurable bane of royalty." The faults were not all on
one side. The prince's character was not attractive, and the king
refused to make him an adequate allowance. In 1735 Frederick wrote, or
inspired the writing of, the _Histoire du prince Titi_, a book
containing offensive caricatures of both king and queen; and losing no
opportunity of irritating his father, "he made," says Lecky, "his court
the special centre of opposition to the government, and he exerted all
his influence for the ruin of Walpole." After a marriage between the
prince and Lady Diana Spencer, afterwards the wife of John, 4th duke of
Bedford, had been frustrated by Walpole, Frederick was married in April
1736 to Augusta (1719-1772), daughter of Frederick II., duke of
Saxe-Gotha, a union which was welcomed by his parents, but which led to
further trouble between father and son. George proposed to allow the
prince L50,000 a year; but this sum was regarded as insufficient by the
latter, whose appeal to parliament was unsuccessful. After the birth of
his first child, Augusta, in 1737, Frederick was ordered by the king to
quit St James' Palace, and the foreign ambassadors were requested to
refrain from visiting him. The relations between the two were now worse
than before. In 1745 George II. refused to allow his son to command the
British army against the Jacobites. On the 20th of March 1751 the prince
died in London, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. He left five sons
and two daughters. The sons were George (afterwards King George III.),
Edward Augustus, duke of York and Albany (1739-1767), William Henry,
duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh (1743-1805), Henry Frederick, duke of
Cumberland (1745-1790), and Frederick William (1750-1765); the daughters
were Augusta (1737-1813), wife of Charles William Ferdinand, duke of
Brunswick, and Caroline Matilda (1751-1775), wife of Christian VII.,
king of Denmark.
See Lord Hervey of Ickworth, _Memoirs of the Reign of George II._,
edited by J. W. Croker (London, 1884); Horace Walpole, _Memoirs of the
Reign of George II._ (London, 1847); and Sir N. W. Wraxall, _Memoirs_,
edited by H. B. Wheatley, vol. i. (London, 1884).