Part Three: The House of Hohenzollern

1. Part Three: The House of Hohenzollern

2. The Thirty Years War devastated the German speaking lands

3. Prussia laid just outside of the Holy Roman Empire and was seen as a meaningless territory

4. King Frederick William was able to organize Prussia into a unified nation, establishing the Hohenzollern Dynasty

5. Frederick was the nephew of the King of Sweden and his wife was the granddaughter of William of Orange

6. Frederick William was very well educated and was obsessed with making Prussia into a great power

7. Even though he was a strict Calvinist, Frederick allowed Catholics and Jews to worship freely in Prussia

8. The “Great Elector” established Berlin as his capital city and allowed over 20,000 French Huguenots to immigrate there

9. His greatest achievement was developing a professional (non-mercenary) standing army

10. When “Great Elector” Frederick William died, he was replaced by his son Frederick I

11. Unlike his father, Frederick I was a weak ruler who did little but maintain what his father had started for over 25 years

12. He was replaced by his son, Frederick William I, who was a strong ruler

13. Due to Frederick William I’s obsession with the military he was nicknamed the “Soldier King”

14. Under him the Prussian military doubled in size and consumed 80% of the national budget

15. Despite this, he balanced the budget but cutting the lavishness of him imperial court

16. Under Frederick William I the Prussian Army was molded into one of absolute obedience and discipline

17. Frederick William I’s greatest fear was that his oldest son, Frederick II, would not be strong enough to rule

18. Young Prince Frederick loved music, philosophy, and poetry

19. Frederick’s father would constantly beat and humiliate him

20. In 1730 he ran away from home and attempted to move to England

21. He was caught and as punishment Frederick was forced to watch his best friend be beheaded

22. Frederick suggested to his father that he be married to Maria Theresa, but instead he was married to a German Princess

23. Young Frederick II took power at the age of 28, only six months after Maria Theresa first came to power

24. Shortly after taking power, Frederick II decided to began the War of Austrian Succession by attempting to remove Maria Theresa from power

25. After failing to both capture the throne of Austria and remove Maria Theresa from power Frederick began reworking his military startegy

26. Meanwhile, he studied French philosophy and the works of Machiavelli

27. Frederick II came to the conclusion that Machiavelli’s statements that people were naturally wicked were incorrect

28. Frederick instead believed that people were both good and bad

29. He also wrote that the ruler existed for the benefit of the nation, not the other way around as Machiavelli had argued

30. Frederick II watched in horror as his rival, Maria Theresa, allied Austria with France, Sweden, and Russia

31. Frederick II was only able to form an alliance with Great Britain, but decided that it was better to fight his enemies now than wait for later

32. Frederick II launched a series of battles against Russia, Austria, and France that began The Seven Years War

33. Britain fought France in the New World, where it was called the French and Indian War

34. While England fought France in the Americas, Frederick’s Prussia struggled against its three powerful enemies

35. Amazingly, Frederick II often fought in the battles personally!

36. He even had six horses shot from under him during battles

37. Frederick II innovated many new battle techniques and formations, earning him the reputation of military genius early in his rule

38. Despite being outnumbered 10 to 1 in the Seven Years War, Prussia held its own – mostly due to Frederick’s genius

39. Napoleon considered Frederick to be the greatest military Genius of all time

40. At first the Seven Years War went very well for Frederick and his armies were winning

41. But, as the years passed, Austria and Russia were able to fight their way towards Berlin

42. It was at this moment that a “Miracle” saved Prussia and Frederick II from complete destruction

43. The Treaty of Paris of 1763 ended the Seven Years War, which was the worst European war of the 18th Century

44. Much later, Winston Churchill would call it the real First World War

45. The Treaty cost France all of its American colonies, which were given to Britain

46. Prussia reestablished itself as a great power and the map of Europe returned to where it was before the war

47. Near defeat did not deter Frederick II and he would go on to lead Prussia into numerous other wars

48. These later wars led to the expansion of Prussia’s land and power

49. While fighting bravely in battle, Frederick also managed to completely reform the government of Prussia

50. Frederick II could speak Ten Languages, including Ancient Greek, Latin, and Hebrew!