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Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg

 
Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg

 
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Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg
 
 
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Frederick William (; February 16 1620 April 29 1688) was the Elector
Prince-elector

The Prince-Electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of Imperial election the Holy Roman Emperors....
 of Brandenburg
Margraviate of Brandenburg

The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
 and the Duke
Duke

A duke is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy or a dukedom. The title comes from the Latin language Dux Bellorum, which had the sense of "military commander" and was employed by both the Germanic peoples themselves and by the Ancient Rome authors covering them to r...
 of Prussia from 1640 until his death. He was of the House of Hohenzollern
House of Hohenzollern

The House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of Prince-elector, kings, and emperors of Prussia, Germany, and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century....
 and is popularly known as the Great Elector (Großer Kurfürst) because of his military and political skill. Frederick William was also a staunch pillar of the Calvinist
Calvinism

Calvinism is a theology system and an approach to the Christian life that emphasizes the rule of God over all things. It was developed by several theologians, but it bears the name of the French Protestant Reformation John Calvin because of his prominent influence on it and because of his role in the confessional and ecclesiastical debates t...
 faith, associated with the rising commercial class. He saw the importance of trade and promoted it vigorously.






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Frederick William (; February 16 1620 April 29 1688) was the Elector
Prince-elector

The Prince-Electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of Imperial election the Holy Roman Emperors....
 of Brandenburg
Margraviate of Brandenburg

The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
 and the Duke
Duke

A duke is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy or a dukedom. The title comes from the Latin language Dux Bellorum, which had the sense of "military commander" and was employed by both the Germanic peoples themselves and by the Ancient Rome authors covering them to r...
 of Prussia from 1640 until his death. He was of the House of Hohenzollern
House of Hohenzollern

The House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of Prince-elector, kings, and emperors of Prussia, Germany, and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century....
 and is popularly known as the Great Elector (Großer Kurfürst) because of his military and political skill. Frederick William was also a staunch pillar of the Calvinist
Calvinism

Calvinism is a theology system and an approach to the Christian life that emphasizes the rule of God over all things. It was developed by several theologians, but it bears the name of the French Protestant Reformation John Calvin because of his prominent influence on it and because of his role in the confessional and ecclesiastical debates t...
 faith, associated with the rising commercial class. He saw the importance of trade and promoted it vigorously. The Great Elector's 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
Kingdom of Prussia

The Kingdom of Prussia was a Germany monarchy from 1701 to 1918 and, from 1871, was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising almost two-thirds of the area of the empire....
, achieved under his successor
Frederick I of Prussia

Frederick I , of the House of Hohenzollern dynasty, was Prince-elector of Brandenburg and the first King in Prussia ....
.

Biography


Frederick William was born in Berlin
Berlin

Berlin is the Capital of Germany city and one of sixteen States of Germany of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is the country's largest city....
 to George William, Elector of Brandenburg
George William, Elector of Brandenburg

George William of the Hohenzollern dynasty was margrave and Prince-Elector of Brandenburg and duke of Duchy of Prussia . His reign was marked by ineffective governance during the Thirty Years' War....
, and Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate
Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate (1597-1660)

Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate was the Germany wife of George William, Elector of Brandenburg, Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Duchy of Prussia, and the mother of Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, the "Great Elector"....
. His inheritance consisted of the Margraviate of Brandenburg
Margraviate of Brandenburg

The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
, the Duchy of Cleves
Duchy of Cleves

The Duchy of Cleves was a state of the Holy Roman Empire in present Germany and the Netherlands . Its territory was situated on both sides of the river Rhine, around its capital Cleves and roughly covering today's Cleves , Wesel and the City of Duisburg....
, the County of Mark, and the Duchy of Prussia.

Foreign diplomacy


During the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War

The Thirty Years' War was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. The war was fought primarily in Germany and at various points involved most of the countries of Europe....
, George William had striven to maintain with a minimal army a delicate balance between the Protestant
Protestantism

Protestantism is a movement within Christianity that originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the three principal traditions of Christianity, together with Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy....
 and Catholic forces fighting throughout the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early modern Europe under a Holy Roman Emperor....
. Out of these meagre beginnings Frederick William managed to rebuild his war-ravaged territories. In contrast to the religious disputes in other European states, the elector supported religious tolerance. With the help of French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 subsidies
Subsidy

In economics, a subsidy is a form of financial assistance paid to a business or economic sector. A subsidy can be used to support businesses that might otherwise fail, or to encourage activities that would otherwise not take place....
, he built up an army to defend the country. Through the treaties of Wehlau
Treaty of Wehlau

The Treaty of Wehlau was a treaty signed in the eastern Prussian town of Wehlau between Poland and Brandenburg-Prussia during The Deluge on September 19, 1657....
, Labiau
Treaty of Labiau

The Treaty of Labiau was a treaty signed between Prince-elector Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg of Brandenburg and monarch Charles X Gustav of Sweden of Sweden on November 20, 1656 in Polessk, the Duchy of Prussia....
, and Oliva
Treaty of Oliva

The Treaty of Oliva, was a peace treaty ending the Deluge . The treaty was signed in Oliwa near Danzig in Royal Prussia on April 23 1660. The signatories were Holy Roman Empire Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, prince-elector Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg of Brandenburg-Prussia, King Charles X of Sweden of Swedish Empire, and K...
, Frederick William succeeded in revoking Polish
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth was one of the largest and most populous countries in 16th and 17th-century Europe, formed by a Union of Lublin of Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1569....
 sovereignty over the Duchy of Prussia, leaving the Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor

Image:HRR 14Jh.jpgThe Roman of the Emperor's title was a reflection of the translatio imperii principle that regarded the Holy Roman Emperors as the inheritors of the title of Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, a title left unclaimed in the West after the death of Julius Nepos in 480....
 as his only liege
Allegiance

An allegiance is a duty of fidelity said to be owed by a subject or a citizen to his/her state or Monarch....
.

Military career


Frederick William was a military commander of wide renown; his standing army would later become the model for the Prussian Army
Prussian Army

The Prussian Army was the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.The Prussian Army had its roots in the meager mercenary forces of Brandenburg during the Thirty Years' War....
. He is notable for his joint victory with Swedish forces at the Battle of Warsaw (1656)
Battle of Warsaw (1656)

The Battle of Warsaw was a battle which took place near Warsaw on July 18 1656 – July 20 1656, between the armies of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth on the one hand and of Swedish Empire and Margraviate of Brandenburg on the other....
, but the Swedes turned on him at the behest of King Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France

Louis XIV ruled as List of French monarchs and of King of Navarre. He ascended the throne a few months before his fifth birthday, but did not assume actual personal control of the government until the death of his prime minister , the Italians Jules Cardinal Mazarin, in 1661....
 and invaded Brandenburg. After marching 250 kilometers 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
Battle of Fehrbellin

The Battle of Fehrbellin was fought on June 28, 1675 between Sweden and Brandenburg. The Swedes, under Count Waldemar von Wrangel , had invaded and occupied parts of Brandenburg from their possessions in Pomerania, but were repelled by the forces of Great Elector, the Great Elector, under Fieldmarshal Georg von Derfflinger near the town of F...
, destroying the myth of Swedish military invincibility. He later destroyed another Swedish army that invaded the Duchy of Prussia during the Great Sleigh Drive in 1678. 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.

Domestic policies


Frederick William is notable for raising an army of 40,000 soldiers by 1678, through the General War Commissariat
General War Commissariat

Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, set up the General War Commissariat to oversee the Prussian Army, as well as to levy taxes necessary to support the army....
 presided over by Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal
Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal

Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal was a German nobility, diplomat and the founder of the early Prussian Army. He was an Imperial War Commissar, as well as both Brandenburg and the Holy Roman Empire's representative at the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, where he negotiated Brandenburg's acquisition of Halberstadt and other territories....
. He was an advocate of mercantilism
Mercantilism

Mercantilism is an economic theory that holds that the prosperity of a nation is dependent upon its supply of Capital , and that the world economy of international trade is "unchangeable"....
, monopolies, subsidies, tariffs, and internal improvements. Following Louis XIV's revocation of the Edict of Nantes
Edict of Nantes

The Edict of Nantes was issued on 13 April 1598 by Henry IV of France to grant the Calvinism Protestants of France substantial rights in a nation still considered essentially Catholicism....
, Frederick William encouraged skilled French
French people

French people can refer to:* The legal residents and citizens of France, regardless of ancestry. For a legal discussion, see French nationality law....
 and Walloon
Walloons

Walloons are a Romance-speaking people partly from Germanic origin and Celtic origin; in any case a melting-pot speaking French language, living in Belgium principally in Wallonia, more generally the inhabitants of Wallonia....
 Huguenot
Huguenot

The Huguenots were members of the Protestantism Reformed Church of France of France from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries....
s to emigrate to Brandenburg-Prussia
Brandenburg-Prussia

Brandenburg-Prussia was a Germany monarchy established by the personal union between the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1618....
 with the Edict of Potsdam
Edict of Potsdam

The Edict of Potsdam was a proclamation issued by Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, in Potsdam on October 29 1685, as a response to the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by the Edict of Fontainebleau....
, bolstering the country's technical and industrial base. On Blumenthal's advice he agreed to exempt the nobility from taxes and in return they agreed to dissolve the Estates-General
The States

The States or the Estates signifies, in different countries and dominions, the assembly of the representatives of the estates of the realm, called together for purposes of legislation or deliberation....
. He also simplified travel in Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia by connecting riverways with canals, a system that was expanded by later Prussian
Kingdom of Prussia

The Kingdom of Prussia was a Germany monarchy from 1701 to 1918 and, from 1871, was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising almost two-thirds of the area of the empire....
 architects, such as Georg Steenke
Georg Steenke

Georg Jakob Steenke was a Germany architect from K?nigsberg and the royal Baurat of the Kingdom of Prussia. His father Johann Friedrich Steenke and grandfather, also from K?nigsberg, were involved with maritime trade....
; the system is still in use today.

Ancestry




Marriages


On 7 December 1646 at The Hague
The Hague

The Hague is the third largest city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of 475,904 and an area of approximately 100 km?....
, Frederick William entered into marriage, proposed by Blumenthal as a partial solution to the Jülich-Berg question, with Luise Henriette of Nassau
Luise Henriette of Nassau

Louise Henrietta of Nassau was a Countess of Nassau, granddaughter of William the Silent and List of rulers of Brandenburg of Margraviate of Brandenburg....
 (1627-1667), daughter of Frederick Henry of Orange-Nassau
Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange

Frederick Henry, or Frederik Hendrik in Dutch language , was the Prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel from 1625 to 1647....
 and Amalia of Solms-Braunfels. Their children were
  • William Henry (1648-1649),
  • Charles (1655-1674),
  • Frederick
    Frederick I of Prussia

    Frederick I , of the House of Hohenzollern dynasty, was Prince-elector of Brandenburg and the first King in Prussia ....
     (1657-1713), his successor,
  • Amalie (1656-1664),
  • Henry (1664-1664),
  • Louis (1666-1687).


On 13 June 1668 at Gröningen
Gröningen

Gr?ningen is a town in the B?rde Districts of Germany in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It lies approx. 40 km south-west of Magdeburg, and 10 km east of Halberstadt....
, Frederick William married Sophie Dorothea
Sophia Dorothea of Holstein

Dorothea Sophia of House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Gl?cksburg was a German noblewoman. The great-granddaughter of king Christian III of Denmark, she was the daughter of Philip, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Gl?cksburg and Sophia Hedwig of Sachsen-Lauenburg....
 of Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, daughter of Philipp of Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and Sophie Hedwig of Saxe-Lauenburg. Their children were
  • Philip William (1669-1711),
  • Marie Amalie (1670-1739),
  • Albert Frederick (1672-1731),
  • Charles (1673-1695),
  • Elisabeth Sofie (1674-1748),
  • Dorothea (1675-1676),
  • Christian Ludwig (1677-1734), recipient of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos
    Brandenburg concertos

    The Brandenburg concerti by Johann Sebastian Bach are a collection of six instrumental works presented by Bach to Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt, margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, in 1721 ....
    .


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