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Frederick the Great

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Events

41 - Claudius is appointed Emperor of Rome after his nephew, Caligula, is assassinated.
1458 - Matthias I Corvinus becomes king of Hungary.
1679 - King Charles II of England disbands Parliament.
1742 - Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor.

..... Click the link for more information. , 1712 Centuries: 17th century - 18th century - 19th century

Decades: 1660s 1670s 1680s 1690s 1700s - 1710s - 1720s 1730s 1740s 1750s 1760s

Years: 1707 1708 1709 1710 1711 - 1712 - 1713 1714 1715 1716 1717

Events

Treaty of Aargau signed between Catholic and Protestants. Introduced Protestant faith in Switzerland.

Year in topic

1712 in literature
1712 in science

..... Click the link for more information. - August 17 August 17 is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 136 days remaining.

Events

1807 - The Clermont, Robert Fulton's first American steamboat, leaves New York City for Albany, New York on the Hudson River, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world.
1862 - Indian Wars: Lakota (Sioux) uprising begins in Minnesota as desperate Lakota attack white settlements along the Minnesota River. They will be overwhelmed by the US military six weeks later.

..... Click the link for more information. , 1786

Centuries: 17th century - 18th century - 19th century

Decades: 1730s 1740s 1750s 1760s 1770s - 1780s - 1790s 1800s 1810s 1820s 1830s

1781 1782 1783 1784 1785 1786 1787 1788 1789 1790 1791

Events

August 8 - Mont Blanc was climbed for the first time by Dr. Michael-Gabriel Paccard and Jacques Balmat.
Choctaw Treaty
Chickasaw Treaty
Robert Burns publishes Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect
Frenchmen Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard are the first to climb Mont Blanc
Francis Light acquires the island of Penang from the Sultan of Kedah on behalf of the British East India Company. It is the first British colony in South-East Asia.

..... Click the link for more information. ) was the Hohenzollern The Hohenzollerns are a European royal family which came to rule Brandenburg, in 1415. They ruled the Duchy of Prussia from 1525-1701; and the Kingdom of Prussia from 1701-1918. They ruled the German Empire from 1871-1918. They were dethroned following World War I.

The Hohenzollern family came originally from south-west Germany; their name derives from their 13th-century castle of Zollern,
..... Click the link for more information. king

A monarch is a hereditary ruler, figure-head or head of state, except in certain states like the former Kingdom of Poland, the various Irish kingdoms before English rule, and current-day Malaysia which feature or featured an elective monarchy. A nation or state that is ruled by a monarch is called a kingdom. A system of governance involving a monarch is known as a monarchy.

Kings and queens

..... Click the link for more information. of Prussia

The word Prussia (German: Preußen (Preussen), Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prusai) has had various (often contradictory) meanings:

The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of Lithuania, the Kaliningrad district of Russia and north-eastern Poland);
The lands controlled by the Teutonic Knights;
Part of the lands of the Polish Crown called Royal Prussia;
A Polish fief ruled by the Hohenzollern dynasty and called Ducal Prussia;
The entire Hohenzollern realm, whether within or outside Germany proper;
An independent country, from the 17th century until 1871;
The largest territorial unit within Imperial Germany, the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich from 1871 to 1945.

..... Click the link for more information. , from 1740 Centuries: 17th century - 18th century - 19th century

Decades: 1690s 1700s 1710s 1720s 1730s - 1740s - 1750s 1760s 1770s 1780s 1790s

Years: 1735 1736 1737 1738 1739 - 1740 - 1741 1742 1743 1744 1745

Events

Adam Smith enters Balliol College, Oxford
George Whitefield founds the Bethesda orphanage
The song Rule Britannia is first performed at Cliveden

..... Click the link for more information. -86

Centuries: 17th century - 18th century - 19th century

Decades: 1730s 1740s 1750s 1760s 1770s - 1780s - 1790s 1800s 1810s 1820s 1830s

1781 1782 1783 1784 1785 1786 1787 1788 1789 1790 1791

Events

August 8 - Mont Blanc was climbed for the first time by Dr. Michael-Gabriel Paccard and Jacques Balmat.
Choctaw Treaty
Chickasaw Treaty
Robert Burns publishes Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect
Frenchmen Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard are the first to climb Mont Blanc
Francis Light acquires the island of Penang from the Sultan of Kedah on behalf of the British East India Company. It is the first British colony in South-East Asia.

..... Click the link for more information. . He was one of the so-called "enlightened monarchs The term enlightened absolutism refers to the absolutist rule of an enlightened monarch (or enlightened despot). This is a reference to the so-called Enlightenment, a historical period of the 18th and early 19th centuries. The main Enlightenment-era proponent of this system was Voltaire. Notes Spielvogel, "Recent scholarship...has questioned the usefulness of [this] concept."
..... Click the link for more information. ".

Friedrich preferred to speak French French (le français, la langue française) is one of the most important Romance languages, outnumbered only by Spanish and Portuguese. French is the 11th most spoken language in the world, spoken by about 77 million people (called Francophones) as a mother tongue, and 128 million including second language speakers, in 1999. It is an official or administrative language in various communities and organizations (such as the European Union, IOC, United Nations and Universal Postal Union).
..... Click the link for more information. rather than German

German (Deutsch)
Spoken in: Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and 38 other countries.
Region: -
Total speakers: 100-140 Million
Ranking: 9
Genetic
classification: Indo-European
Germanic
  West
   High German
    German
     Middle German
      East Middle German
       German
Official status
Official language of: Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Luxembourg
Regulated by: -
Language codes
ISO 639-1 de
ISO 639-2(B) ger
ISO 639-2(T) deu
SIL GER
..... Click the link for more information. . He had little sympathy for the German literature of his time.

His mother was Princess Sophie Dorothea von Hannover(1687-1757). Contrary to her husband she was well educated and knew how to behave.

Frederick succeeded his father Frederick William I

Frederick William I of Prussia (in German: Friedrich Wilhelm I), of the House of Hohenzollern (August 14, 1688 - May 31, 1740), often known as 'the Soldier-King', reigned as King of Prussia (1713 - 1740).

His father, Frederick I of Prussia, had successfully acquired the title King for the margraves of Brandenburg. Frederick William concentrated on building up the military power of Prussia.
..... Click the link for more information. (der Soldatenkönig, the "Soldier King"). He had to endure a very rigourus and austere upbringing. The relationship between the music loving and francophile Frederick and his militaristic father was difficult. At a manoeuvre the 18 year old Frederick was once beaten in public by his father. Thereupon he tried to escape together with his friend Hans Hermann von Katte, but was caught (Aug. 5th 1730). Prince Friedrich was imprisoned in the fortress Küstrin. Accusation: Both Prince and von Katte were officiers in the Prussian army that had tried to flee from Prussia or even to work together with England against the Prussian king (treason!). Death penalty threatened the Prince and the king was not unwilling to allow an execution. The proud prince had to submit to the demands of his father. Friedrich was forced to watch the execution (decapitation) of his friend on Nov. 6th 1730, and was strictly supervised in the following years.

He had to marry Elisabeth Christine von Braunschweig-Bevern on Jun. 12th 1733. The involuntary matrimony did not lead to children. After having become king, Friedrich mostly ignored his wife. Some sources are taken to indicate that he was homosexual.

After the crisis in the relationship with king Friedrich Wilhelm in the early 30ies, son and father made peace with one another in the later 1730ies (it kept a cold one). The father gave his son the chateau Rheinsberg. In Rheinsberg Friedrich could assemble a small number of musicians, actors and other artists. He spent his time on reading, watching dramatic plays, making and listening to music. It was a happy time for the Prince.

The writings of Machiavelli

Niccolò Machiavelli (May 3, 1469 - June 21, 1527) was an Italian political philosopher of the Renaissance.

Historical significance

Machiavelli is the key figure in the realistic political theory of the Renaissance and crucial to later political philosophy and political science.

He was the author of The Prince, a work intended to be an instruction book for rulers. In it, he advocated the theory that whatever was expedient was necessary - an early example of utilitarianism and realpolitik as these theories were elaborated later, especially in the 20th century.
..... Click the link for more information. were considered to be a guideline to the behavior of a king in Friedrich's age. In 1739 Friedrich finished his "Antimachiavel Anti-Machiavel is an 18th century essay by Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, rebutting the The Prince, the 16th century essay by Niccolò Machiavelli. It was first published in September 1740, a few months after Frederick became king.

External links

Introduction to the essay , English translation with some notes on provenance
Full text of the essay , a different English translation again with some notes on provenance

..... Click the link for more information. , ou Examen du Prince de Machiavel" - a writing in which he opposes Machiavelli. It was published as a anonymous writing in 1740.

1740 May 31th: Death of King Friedrich Wilhelm.
1740 Oct.20th: Death of the German king Karl VI.; The War of the Austrian Succession

The War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748). When Maria Theresa of Austria succeeded her father Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor in his Hapsburg dominions in 1740 in accordance with the pragmaticae sanctiones (Pragmatic Sanction), she, as a woman, was seen as weak, and some other princes (such as Charles Albert of Bavaria) alleged rights to the crown.

In this unsettled dynastic
..... Click the link for more information. followed.
1741 Apr.10th: Battle of Mollwitz Prussian victory over Austria on April 10th 1741

First battle of the new Prussian king Friedrich II. The Prussian king flees from the battlefield when the Austrians seem to be wining. The Prussian victory is won by the old Field Marshal Schwerin.

External links

Battle of Mollwitz
..... Click the link for more information.
1742 June 11th and July 28th: Separate peace treaties with Austria The Republic of Austria is a landlocked country in Central Europe, a federation of nine states. Austria is bordered by Liechtenstein and Switzerland on the west, Italy and Slovenia on the south, Hungary and Slovakia on the east, and Germany and the Czech Republic on the north.

Republik Österreich
(In detail) (Full size)
National motto:
..... Click the link for more information. ; Silesia Please be advised that the factual accuracy of Encyclopedia articles dealing with topics related to the Oder-Neisse Line is often disputed.

Silesia (Polish Śląsk, German Schlesien, Czech Slezsko) is a historical region in central Europe. Most of it is now within the borders of Poland, but with a small part in the Czech Republic, and another small region, which only became part of Silesia in 1815, in Germany. Silesia is located along the upper and middle Oder (Odra) River and along the Sudetes mountains. In a local Silesian language or dialect it is called Ślonsk or Ślunsk.
..... Click the link for more information. becomes part of Prussia

The word Prussia (German: Preußen (Preussen), Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prusai) has had various (often contradictory) meanings:

The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of Lithuania, the Kaliningrad district of Russia and north-eastern Poland);
The lands controlled by the Teutonic Knights;
Part of the lands of the Polish Crown called Royal Prussia;
A Polish fief ruled by the Hohenzollern dynasty and called Ducal Prussia;
The entire Hohenzollern realm, whether within or outside Germany proper;
An independent country, from the 17th century until 1871;
The largest territorial unit within Imperial Germany, the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich from 1871 to 1945.

..... Click the link for more information.
1744 Aug.10th: Again war with Austria
1745 Dec.25th: Peace. Prussia and Friedrich have won all 5 battles against Austria in the two Silesian Wars
1756-1763 Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756-1763) pitted Britain, Prussia and Hanover against France, Austria, Russia, Sweden, and Saxony. It was the first "world war"; most major European nations were involved, and the conflict spanned the globe with different theaters on the European continent, as well as in present day Canada, the United States, India, and the Caribbean.

Spain and Portugal were later drawn into the conflict, while a force from the neutral Netherlands was attacked in India.
..... Click the link for more information. Friedrich is confronted with a Austrian-French-Russian-Saxon alliance. Afraid to be attacked by resentful Austria, he decides to take initiative. Initial successes against Saxony and Austria in 1756/57 are not severe enough to reach a decision. The Prussians have to retreat from Bohemia

Bohemia (Čechy in Czech, Böhmen in German) is an historical region in central Europe, occupying the western and middle thirds of the Czech Republic. With an area of 52,750 sq. km. and 6.25 million of the country's 10.3 million inabitants, Bohemia is bounded by Germany to the west, Poland to the north-east, the Czech province of Moravia to the east and Austria to the south. Bohemia's borders are marked with mountain ranges such as the Bohemian Forest, the Ore Mountains or Krkonoše as part of the Sudeten mountains.
..... Click the link for more information. . For the rest of the war Friedrich is busy trying to defend the triangle Berlin - Silesia - Saxony. In the west Prussia is sheltered by England-Hanover

Alternate meanings: Hanover (district), Hanover (region), other uses

Hanover (in German: Hannover), on the Leine river, is the capital city of the state of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) in Germany. It is also the capital of the surrounding Hanover district and region. Population: 515,219 (2001).

History

The town was founded in medieval times on the bank of the Leine river (the original name Honovere may be translated to "high bank"). It was a small village of ferrymen and fishermen, which became a comparatively large town in the 13th century. In the 14th century a massive city wall with three town gates was built to secure the city, and the main churches of Hanover were constructed.
..... Click the link for more information. from France. Defence in Northern and Eastern Prussia

The word Prussia (German: Preußen (Preussen), Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prusai) has had various (often contradictory) meanings:

The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of Lithuania, the Kaliningrad district of Russia and north-eastern Poland);
The lands controlled by the Teutonic Knights;
Part of the lands of the Polish Crown called Royal Prussia;
A Polish fief ruled by the Hohenzollern dynasty and called Ducal Prussia;
The entire Hohenzollern realm, whether within or outside Germany proper;
An independent country, from the 17th century until 1871;
The largest territorial unit within Imperial Germany, the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich from 1871 to 1945.

..... Click the link for more information. is only sporatic.
1757 June 6th: First defeat of Friedrich in the Battle of Kolin Battle after: Battle of Hastenbeck
Battle of Kolin
Conflict Seven Years' War
Date May 6, 1757
Place Kolin, Czech Republic
Result Austrian victory
Combatants
Prussia Austria
Commanders
King Frederick the Great Leopold Josef, Count von Daun
Strength
32,000 44,000
Casualties
14,000 9,000

The battle of Kolin was a battle fought on June 18, 1757 during the Seven Years' War.
..... Click the link for more information.
1759 Aug.12th: Disastrous defeat of Friedrich and his army in the Battle of Kunersdorf The battle of Kunersdorf was a battle fought on August 23, 1759 during the Seven Years' War.

Kunersdorf is east of Berlin near Frankfurt/Oder and it is somewhat east of the Oder river.

The battle of Kunersdorf is most devastating defeat Prussia saw under the reign of Frederick II.

The battle started with an Prussian attack on the flank of the Russian positions. This attack was successful and if Frederick would have stopped the attack (as demanded by his brother Prince Heinrich), Kunersdorf had become a Prussian victory. But Frederick wanted to take advantage of the beginning success and decided to continue the battle. While the power of the Prussian attack faded, the Austrian cavalry (so far kept in reserve) began to engage in the battle.
..... Click the link for more information.
1762 Armistance and peace with Russia; Austria financally ruined
1763 Prussia neither gains nor looses territories
After the war Friedrich begins immediately to rebuild his country.
1778 After the death of the Bavarian Kurfürst(elector) Austria tries to annex Bavaria. Friedrich (meanwhile 66) invades Bohemia. Austria has to give in

Frederick did not really have a vision for an unified Germany The Federal Republic of Germany or FRG (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is one of the world's major industrialized countries, located in Western Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark and the Baltic Sea, to its east by Poland and the Czech Republic, to the south by Austria and Switzerland and to its west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. West Germany was a founding member of the European Union.
..... Click the link for more information. ; this had to wait until Bismarck Alternate meanings: See Bismarck (disambiguation)

Prince Otto von Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg (April 1, 1815 - July 30, 1898) was one of the most prominent leaders of the 19th century; as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Prussia (1862 - 1890) he unified Germany with a series of successful wars and became the first Chancellor (1871 - 1890) of the German Empire. Initially a deeply conservative, aristocratic, and monarchist politician, Bismarck fought the growing social democracy movement in the 1880s by outlawing several organizations and pragmatically instituting mandatory old-age pensions, and health and accident insurance for workers. He became known as the Iron Chancellor.
..... Click the link for more information. started and won several wars a century later. Actually he thought all his wars mainly against Austria (The Habsburg leaders of Austria were almost continuously German Kings from 15th century till 1806). On contrary Frederick established Brandenburg/Prussia as the 5th and smallest European great power by using the resources his father had made available. For 100 years the Austro-Prussian dualism (ending with the Austrian defeat 1866 Centuries: 18th century - 19th century - 20th century

Decades: 1810s 1820s 1830s 1840s 1850s - 1860s - 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s

Years: 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 - 1866 - 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871

This is a common year starting on Monday.

Events

January 12 - Royal Aeronautical Society is formed (London).
February 13 - Jesse James robs his first bank

..... Click the link for more information. ) made a unified Germany impossible.

Frederick led the Prussians forces during the War of the Austrian Succession

In this unsettled dynastic
..... Click the link for more information. , during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) and in a campaign 1778 - not only as king but also as military commander in the field. He was not only quite successful in the battlefield. Even more important were his operational successes (preventing unification of superior enemy armies; be at the right time at the right place to keep enemy armies out of Prussian core territory).

Had a life-long rivalry with his younger brother Heinrich, Prince of Prussia. Had a long term friendship with Voltaire. Friedrich hosted Voltaire from July 1750 till March 1752 in Berlin and Potsdam.

His nephew Friedrich Wilhelm II succeeded him as King of Prussia (no children).

Frederick had a great fondness for music, and in particular he played the flute to a more than acceptable standard. He was responsible directly or indirectly for the writing of many pieces of flute music, and also wrote over a hundred pieces himself. His court musicians included C. P. E. Bach and Johann Joachim Quantz. A meeting with Johann Sebastian Bach in 1747 led to Bach writing The Musical Offering. Frederick also befriended Voltaire.

Quotes

"[The monarch] is a perpetual sentinel, who must watch...enemies of the state...it is not that he should remain the shadow of authority, but that he should fulfill [his] duties."
"Hier muss ein jeder nach seiner Facon selig werden." ("Here every one must find his happiness in his own way.")
"Ich bin der erste Diener meines Staates." ("I am the first servant of my state.")

Frederick managed to take Prussia from being basically a European backwater and make it a modern state. He abolished torture and granted wide religious freedom (although he himself did not care much for religion). He gave his state a modern bureaucracy based on respect for law and ethics, as well as pride in one's profession. This legacy was passed on into the modern German state and is a main reason why he is still so admired as a historical figure within Germany.

Preceded by:
Frederick William I

List of Kings of Prussia

Succeeded by:
Frederick William II

preview not available. Click the link for more information.

References in classic literature:	More
[] Frederick the Great was accustomed to say: "The older one gets the more convinced one becomes that his Majesty King Chance does three-quarters of the business of this miserable universe. The Prince by Machiavelli, Nicolo View in context*
Another great book was Carlyle's History of Frederick the Great. English Literature For Boys And Girls by Marshall, H.E. View in context
Some few still exist who have beheld Frederick the Great, Doctor Johnson, Marie Antoinette, &c. Vanity Fair by Thackeray, William Makepeace View in context

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