Did Native American people actually bury hatchets when making peace? On Blumenthal's advice he agreed to exempt the nobility from taxes and in return they agreed to dissolve the Estates-General. Though militarily successful in Swedish Pomerania, he had to bow to France's demands and return his gains to Sweden in the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1679). He retained a marked preference for Dutch architecture and agriculture and a strong desire to open Brandenburg to international commerce and maritime trade. His stay in Holland between his 14th and 18th years, the time divided between the University of Leiden and the court of his future father-in-law, Frederick Henry of Orange, at The Hague, left him with lasting impressions. Pateicamies par mūsu enciklopēdijas apmeklējumu. After marching 250 kilometres in 15 days back to Brandenburg, he caught the Swedes by surprise and managed to defeat them on the field at the Battle of Fehrbellin, destroying the myth of Swedish military invincibility. 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. Updates? During the Thirty Years' War, George William strove to maintain, with a minimal army, a delicate balance between the Protestant and Catholic forces fighting throughout the Holy Roman Empire. With the help of French subsidies, he built up an army to defend the country. After seven years of peaceful reconstruction, Frederick William saw his political and military ability put to a difficult test with the outbreak of the First Northern War (1655–60). The Elector’s ability to gain his ends arose not only from the ease with which he changed sides but also from his success in forcing the provincial estates to support the standing army independently of tax appropriations by the diets. Frederick William was a staunch pillar of the Calvinist faith, associated with the rising commercial class. Frederick William realised that if he wanted Brandenburg-Prussia to be a major power in Europe, he had to bring the state up-to-date with the other powers in Europe, especially threats like Sweden and Russia. He was an advocate of mercantilism, monopolies, subsidies, tariffs, and internal improvements. Please select which sections you would like to print: Corrections? Author of. Frederick William was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia – and thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia – from 1640 until his death. He is notable for his joint victory with Swedish forces at the Battle of Warsaw (1656), which, according to Hajo Holborn, marked "the beginning of Prussian military history", but the Swedes turned on him at the behest of King Louis XIV of France and invaded Brandenburg. Frederick William, byname The Great Elector, German Der Grosse Kurfürst, (born Feb. 16, 1620, Cölln, near Berlin—died May 9, 1688, Potsdam, near Berlin), elector of Brandenburg (1640–88), who restored the Hohenzollern dominions after the devastations of the Thirty Years’ War—centralizing the political administration, reorganizing the state finances, rebuilding towns and cities, developing a strong army, … Frederick William was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia – and thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia – from 1640 until his death. Elector Frederick William was born in Berlin to George William, Elector of Brandenburg, and Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate. By invading Poland, King Charles X Gustav of Sweden sought to expand the power in the Baltic that Sweden gained by the Peace of Westphalia. In contrast to the religious disputes that distrupted the internal affairs of other European states, Brandenburg-Prussia benefited from the policy of religious tolerance adopted by Frederick William. Residing until 1643 not in Brandenburg, the heartland of his domain, but rather in Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia), the capital of the remote Duchy of Prussia, the Elector at first pursued a policy of cautious neutrality in order to escape the pressure of the rival powers. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. All these measures contributed to the foundation of the future Prussian monarchy. He saw the importance of trade and promoted it vigorously. He saw the importance of trade and promoted it vigorously. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is popularly known as "The Great Elector" (German: Der Große Kurfürst) because of his military and political prowess. Lacking the support of friendly great powers at the peace congress of Westphalia in 1648, he did not attain his aim of acquiring all of Pomerania, with the Oder estuary and the important harbour of Stettin (since 1945 Szczecin). A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is popularly known as "The Great Elector" (German: Der Große Kurfürst) because of his military and political prowess. In 1644, at the beginning of negotiations to conclude the Thirty Years’ War, he had already started to organize his own military force. This army was not big enough to allow Frederick William to conduct an independent foreign policy. He discharged the Brandenburg troops in the service of the Habsburg emperor and concluded an armistice with Sweden. Though militarily successful in Swedish Pomerania, he had to bow to France's demands and return his gains to Sweden in the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1679). In the three-day Battle of Warsaw in July 1656, the untried army of Brandenburg, under the Elector’s command, passed its test of fire. On Blumenthal's advice he agreed to exempt the nobility from taxes and in return they agreed to dissolve the Estates-General. Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. He had to be content with eastern Pomerania, the secularized dioceses of Minden and Halberstadt, and the promise of the archbishopric of Magdeburg, all of which were, however, important as links to his western German possessions. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Was aluminum once more valuable than gold? Frederick William tried to modernise Brandenburg-Prussia as quickly as was possible. His shrewd domestic reforms gave Prussia a strong position in the post-Westphalia political order of north-central Europe, setting Prussia up for elevation from duchy to kingdom, achieved under his son and successor. Frederick William is notable for raising an army of 40,000 soldiers by 1678, through the General War Commissariat presided over by Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal. [3], In the conflict for Pomerania inheritance, Frederick William had to accept two setbacks, one in the Northern War and one in the Scanian War. Frederick I was the third son of Frederick William, the Great Elector of Brandenburg-Prussia. He is notable for his joint victory with Swedish forces at the Battle of Warsaw (1656), which, according to Hajo Holborn, marked "the beginning of Prussian military history",[5] but the Swedes turned on him at the behest of King Louis XIV of France and invaded Brandenburg. On 7 December 1646 in The Hague, Frederick William entered into a marriage, proposed by Blumenthal as a partial solution to the Jülich-Berg question, with Luise Henriette of Nassau (1627–1667), daughter of Frederick Henry of Orange-Nassau and Amalia of Solms-Braunfels and his 1st cousin once removed through William the Silent. To keep the Elector on his side, the Swedish king granted him full sovereignty over the Duchy of Prussia. In contrast to the religious disputes that distrupted the internal affairs of other European states, Brandenburg-Prussia benefited from the policy of religious tolerance adopted by Frederick William. Mēs visu nespējam ierakstīt. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). In the second half of his reign, he removed control of taxation and finances from the estates altogether, thereby laying the groundwork for the powerful bureaucracy of later Prussian absolutism, with its standing army, fixed taxes, and an officialdom dependent on the sovereign alone. When Frederick William, completely inexperienced in politics, succeeded his father as elector in December 1640, he took over a ravaged land occupied by foreign troops. In the Second Northern War, he was forced to accept Swedish vassalage for the Duchy of Prussia according to the terms of the Treaty of Königsberg (1656), but as the war progressed he succeeded in gaining full sovereignty for the Prussian duchy in the treaties of Labiau, Wehlau, Bromberg and Oliva, leaving the Holy Roman Emperor as his only liege for his imperial holdings. Frederick William (German : Friedrich Wilhelm) (16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688) was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia – and thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia – from 1640 until his death. Frederick William (German: Friedrich Wilhelm; 16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688) was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia, from 1640 until his death in 1688. French intervention, however, forced Frederick William once again to give up his Pomeranian conquests. A member of the House of Hohenzollern , he is popularly known as " the Great Elector " [1] ( der Große Kurfürst ) because of his military and political achievements. Moreover, his marriage in 1646 to Louise Henriette of Orange failed to bring the anticipated Dutch support. Their children were the following: Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, Articles incorporating a citation from the Encyclopedia Americana, Articles incorporating a citation from the Encyclopedia Americana with a Wikisource reference, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, Sophia Dorothea of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Philip, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Gustav Adolph, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg, https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Frederick_William,_Elector_of_Brandenburg?oldid=5247477, Pages using duplicate arguments in template calls. Out of these unpromising beginnings Frederick William managed to rebuild his war-ravaged territories. The future elector was, above all, impressed by Holland’s imposing maritime and commercial power, as well as by its pioneering achievements in military technology and organization. Mēs visi esam niecīga sastāvdaļa cilvēces vēsturē, kuru aicinām rakstīt kopā! After marching 250 kilometres in 15 days back to Brandenburg, he caught the Swedes by surprise and managed to defeat them on the field at the Battle of Fehrbellin, destroying the myth of Swedish military invincibility. Omissions? A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is popularly known as "The Great Elector"[1] (German language: Der Große Kurfürst) because of his military and political prowess.