Representing local elites of landowners and merchants, the several estates opposed increasing taxes to fund the military and diplomatic ambitions of the elector, particularly if those taxes were to be spent elsewhere than where they were raised. For the full article, see, https://www.britannica.com/summary/Frederick-William-elector-of-Brandenburg. This made it much easier for Brandenburg, and later Prussia, to mobilize its military upon the outbreak of hostilities, giving it the ability to immediately compete with its neighbors. In the complex power struggles in Europe starting in 1661, he shifted allegiance by always joining with the weaker party, hoping to maintain the balance of power. The elector also encouraged immigration from Piedmont, and especially France, where Louis XIVs pro-Catholic religious policies led twenty thousand Protestant Huguenots, many of them professionals and skilled artisans, to settle in Brandenburg, along with fifty Jewish families who were given special trading privileges. Their purpose was to avoid the enemy, beat them to the town, and destroy the towns lone bridge, thus severing the Swedish retreat. By pretending to lead a Swedish column, Derfflinger succeeded in tricking the sentries into opening the gates, after which the Brandenburgers poured through. He is noted for his use of broad directives and delegation of decision-making to his commanders, which would later become the basis for the German doctrine of Auftragstaktik, and he is noted for using rapid mobility to defeat his foes.[6]. He paid attention to infrastructure, especially building the Frederick William Canal through Berlin, linking his capital city to ocean traffic. Write the letter of your choice on the answer line. By 1678, Frederick William had cleared Swedish Pomerania and occupied most of it, with the exception of Rgen which was held by DenmarkNorway. No one can be great, or good, or happy except through the inward efforts of themselves. were a nomadic tribe. Later that year they abandoned him altogether, forging with France the Treaty of Nymwegen. This is Frederick County, where hip meets historic every day. He had previously assumed that Sweden would refrain from any such move because of the divisions within its government and the strength of the Dutch fleet. Brandenburg now possessed an officer corps that was tied to the interests of the state rather than functioning merely as a group of mercenaries concerned with their own careers and financial gain. Frederick William, later known as the great elector, assumed power in the midst of the catastrophic Thirty Years War (1618-1648) Thirty Years War (1618-1648);Frederick William and . The Great Elector is most famous for building a strong standing army, with an elite officer corps. challenges. Mason Although he had escaped a potentially deadly situation relatively unharmed, Frederick William could not shake off the feeling of disgrace he experienced by having to sign the Peace of Vossem. Painting of his 1646 wedding ceremony by Johannes Mytens. Between 17,000 and 30,000 enslaved Africans were transported by the BAC to the Americas before the colony was sold to the Dutch in 1721.[9]. With great fury the attackers swarmed inside the town, catching the vast majority of the Swedes asleep in their beds. Derfflinger opposed the strategy, arguing that his horsemen were too exhausted from the march and the assault on Rathenow, but the elector, backed by Prince Friedrich, overruled him, stressing the need for a decisive campaign. The seeds were thus sown for the dramatic growth of the army in generations to come. He created a strong army and the best standing army in Europe. Although committed to the Protestant Calvinist faith, Frederick William formed alliances with Catholic rulers when it was to his advantage. The charter he granted to the BAC stipulated that they could establish a colony in West Africa, which was subsequently named the Brandenburger Gold Coast. In 1675, he defeated the invading Swedes at the Battle of Fehrbellin, Fehrbellin, Battle of (1675) winning for himself the title of the great elector, later the title of a biography by Samuel von Pufendorf, one of his advisers. His master of stables, Emanuel Froben, was struck down, supposedly on account of his riding Frederick Williams gray horse (an exchange in mounts having been made to help ensure the electors safety). On 7 December 1646 in The Hague, Frederick William entered into a marriage, proposed by Blumenthal as a partial solution to the Jlich-Berg question, with Luise Henriette of Nassau (16271667), daughter of Frederick Henry of Orange-Nassau and Amalia of Solms-Braunfels and his 1st cousin once removed through William the Silent. During his boyhood a marriage had been suggested between him and Christina, heir to the throne of Sweden, but although the idea was revived during the peace negotiations between Sweden and Brandenburg, it came to nothing.[2]. In the second half of the 17th century, Frederick William, the Great Elector, developed Brandenburg-Prussia into a major power. What was Frederick William the Great Elector known for? He succeeded in his goal of centralizing the administration and increasing the revenue,[2] and was an advocate of mercantilism, monopolies, subsidies, tariffs, and internal improvements. The march was a stunning success. They were there to decide the future of their state. At the same time, the battle served to underscore Swedens gradual decline. The other state was on the opposite end of the spectrum. Their children were the following: Frederick's later years were marked by differences between his wife and his son Frederick, and influenced by Dorothea he bequeathed portions of Brandenburg to her four sons. Derek McKay's erudite yet concise biography avoids the, hagiography of Frederick William's later admirers and offers instead a compelling account of how the, ruler earned this epithet. In 1672, when Louis launched a war of conquest against the Dutch Republic, two very different states were forced to make that difficult choice. For example, he used secret police to hunt down opponents and kill them. The Great Elector: Frederick William of Brandenburg-Pr ussia (Profiles In Power) Be the first to write a review. Delaying the process even more was a sudden attack of the gout that prevented Frederick William from reaching The Hague until May. At the close of the campaign, Waldemar had a paltry 4,000 men remaining at his disposal. Beachy on McKay, 'The Great Elector: Frederick William of Brandenburg-Prussia', Robert Beachy (Department of History, Goucher College, Baltimore), How Britain Unified Germany: Geography and the Rise of Prussia, A History of German-Scandinavian Relations, The Censorship of Literary Naturalism, 1885-1895: Prussia and Saxony, A Little History of the Schulenburg Family, The Public Mood in Bavaria and Other Federal States, Through British Eyes (December 3, 1866), Brandenburg-Prussia, 1466-1806: the Rise of a Composite State', East Prussia 2.0: Persistent Regions, Rising Nations, Geopolitics of the Kaliningrad Exclave and Enclave: Russian and EU Perspectives Alexander Diener, Hohenzollern Prussia: Claiming a Legacy of Legitimacy, Interpreting Travel Writings of the Ticknors and Other Privileg, The Wettins and the Issue of Inheritance of the Polish-Lithuanian State Throne in the Context of the Constitution of May 3, 1791: Position of the Lithuanian Nobility, Housing and Integrating Refugees in Hamburg, Culture and Exchange: the Jews of Knigsberg, 1700-1820, Lithuania Minor and Prussia on the Old Maps (15251808), Aachen, Imperial City 104, 112 Aachen, Hans Van 327, 329, 3512, 355, The Great Elector: Frederick William of Brandenburg-Prussia', Summer Reading: the Kaiserreich, 18711914, German Unification German-Speaking States Were Being Left Behind During the Industrial Revolution, The Kingdom of Wurttenmerg and the Making of Germany, 1815-1871, Bismarck's Attitude Toward the Entrance of Bavaria Into the North German Confederation, The Unification of Germany, 1866-1871 Definition of a Nation, Monetary and Fiscal Unification in Nineteenth-Century Germany : What Can Kohl Learn from Bismarck? Frederick William, Derfflinger, and the rest of the Brandenburger cavalry arrived at noon, raising the electors total strength to roughly 7,000 horsemen against the equally numerous Swedes. Charles spent much of his reign trying to get this principle accepted by the various branches of the Habsburg family, by the three different Estates of the realm, and by the states of Europe. The Great Elector: Frederick William of Brandenburg-Pr ussia (Profiles In Power) Be the first to write a review. Leave Feedback about your eBay ViewItem experience, - eBay Money Back Guarantee - opens in a new window or tab, The Great Elector: Frederick William of Brandenburg-Pr. He also simplified travel in Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia by connecting riverways with canals, a system that was expanded by later Prussian architects, such as Georg Steenke; the system is still in use today. During the final months of 1675, the Brandenburger army drove the Swedes into Mecklenburg, where Charles XIs tormented army withered still further. Its current ruler, the elector Frederick William, having come to power during the Thirty Years War, had suffered the humiliation of being unable to prevent foreigners from marching through and devastating his lands. Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198; Frederick II, Duke of Austria (12191246), last Duke of Austria from the Babenberg dynasty; Frederick the Fair (Frederick I of Austria (Habsburg), 12861330), Duke of Austria and King of the Romans; Baden He cautiously maintained neutrality between the warring Swedes and Habsburgs, started to build a standing army, and added to his territories with the Peace of Westphalia (1648). Although stiffed at the peace negotiations, Brandenburg had made tremendous gains, establishing an army and a military tradition far greater than any of their German counterparts. Unlike Frederick William, Waldemar also possessed infantry and thus was at a decided advantage. Although it had made a profound statement, Brandenburg remained a minor continental player, still subject to the whims of the larger powers. He desperately sought to remedy the situation. Knowing that success relied entirely upon the element of surprise, he prepared to move with great speed and accordingly decided to advance with only his cavalry and as many infantry as could be loaded onto available wagons. He became rigidly controlled in highly militarized society. The House of Hohenzollern What were the four He was one of history's greatest conquerors. 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