Building Prussia

Building of Prussian Empire Power of sm states: held sway on battlefield: actual field armies ---> 40,000, wi/ reach of sm states concentration on training, discipline, & equip lends advantage

Chambers 545-547, 558-561

Sweden’s brief empire... line of extraordinary rulers:

Gustavus Adolphus 1611-1632 Queen Christina 1632-1654 Charles XII 1697-1718

Kingship hered., royal pwr freed experts from west, war subsidized, novel army features, success 30 years war Peace Westphalia: coastal regions gained series wars: Baltic control ---> “Swedish Lake” - Denmark/Brandenburg remained indep. 1718: contracted to Swedish sphere (+ Finland and some Ger) Successful trans from grt pwr to small Prussia “militarism”: milit needs, values permeate all spheres of life Setting unpromising: uninviting, low pop, poor soil wo/ minerals more bkwrd Saxony or Bohemia etc.... flat open plain merge w/Poland, no natural frontiers Pomerania: coastal, directly S of Sweden inland: electoral margraviate Brandenburg, center = Berlin estab in M.A. as border state “mark” or “march” of HRE post 1415 = Hohenzollerns Original Prussia: Teutonic knights milit crusading order Seacoast Baltic: otherwise enclosed by Poland To N : Ger. minorities - Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia towns & many landlords: “Baltic Barons” no grt tie to main block Ger in West 17th C: mod Prussia began appear - when # terr ---> Hohenzollerns of Brandenburg 1618: duchy Prussia inherited by Elector of Brandenburg 1648: East Pomerania --> Elector Brandenburg - window on Baltic Ther4 Hohenzollerns set about getting Slavic Pomeralia to connect (1772) Westphalia provided conn. to W Eur also got lands W of Elbe, + earlier inheritence further W = a base 4 lrgr holdings built in Rhineland This condition of 3 disconnected masses ---> policy of unification Frederick William: The Great Elector succeeded to rule 1640 - midst of 30 yrs war: tough conditions He put faith in army to enter politics of Balance of power goal: have army, but not use it, nurture it, but use diplomacy i.e. w/ Fr. vs. Habs, w/ Swedes vs. Poland aspired not only to margrave or elector, but King! Opportunity for Royal Title: Frederick I Building Prussia

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1701 opp arrived: War of Spanish Succession Emperor request Elector Brand. support him, he said yes upon cond. be recog as King in Prussia (---> King of Prussia) A German king above all other Ger princes Fred I least militaristic of founding Hohenzollerns: patron arts, learning Military State origin: defensive in 30 yrs war outlasted this ---> characteristic of country idea standing army not unique: unique cuz: to maintain army govt had to direct & plan life of country to supp. it army dev life of own older than Prussian state itself: 1657 Great Elector estab as 1st all Prussian inst. civil inst dev later, mainly to supp army army proved more durable than state: i.e. post napoleon, & post empire collapse Development finances civil govt paid by crown domains / army by taxes army req make crown domain more prod ---> lrg civil govt bureaucracy and more taxes ---> land, salt, excise ther4: economy grew by govt sponsorship, not enterprising middle class govt sponsorship: import experts ( a rural country) - Swiss, Frisians, Jews, Hugenots milit needs(&ther4 govt) dominated market for goods poor country so civil demands low Social Dev and Class Structure civil M.C. submissive Junkers(landed arist) absorbed ---> milit service army used as tool dev “all Prussian” mentality sense of service to King/state exalted as virtue duty, obedience, service, sacrifice plan worked, few Junker families w/ no one in uniform Great Elector & successors repressed estates/assemblies in which landed arist main prt --->Landlord agree accept ruler’s govt, army service for “hereditary subjeciton” v. peasant Junkers preferred as officers: habit of command, ther4 bourgeois officers = rare Law prohib sale of “noble” lnads ---> non nobles to preserv officer class ther4 classes frozen by owning nonexchangable property M.C. limited: no arist by landed gentry route--->little spirit independence Pruss M.C. not wealthy (few old Ger towns in Prussia) typical M.C. = govt official of some sort honest, efficient, but deferred to nobles, in awe of army Frederick William I (1713-1740) Building Prussia

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earthy, uncouth,disdained culture, cut royal exp by 3/4 i.e. coronation journey Koinigsburg: 2,547 thalers.....dad = 5 mill fatherly German manner prowled streets Berlin old seedy uniform workaholic: expected same loved army: always wore uniform, promoted officers in court hierarchy increased it 40,000 ---> 83,000 -- used canton recruit system (“tall” unit – Potsdam Giants) cadet corps 4 junker youths Berlin: 100,000people/20,000 soldiers -- unmatched proprtion Practically no wars....warchest 7,000,000 thalers 1740 Frederick II(the Great) inherited all -- will use to start War of the Austrian Succession w/strike upon Silesia + army ---> 200,000 = now a grt pwr

Building Prussia

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