Frederick William I

Frederick William I (1688-1740), King of Prussia (1713-1740), who during his reign made his kingdom into a major European state.

Frederick William was born on August 15, 1688, in Berlin, the son of King Frederick I. He succeeded his father in 1713 and for the next seven years was involved in a dispute with Sweden over Pomerania, a part of which he finally received by the Treaty of Stockholm in 1720. In return for recognizing (1726) the Pragmatic Sanction, by which Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, was given the Austrian Habsburg dominions, he hoped to gain support for his claim to the Lower Rhine duchies of Jülich and Berg, but his expectations were dashed.

Frederick William's greatest accomplishment was in the internal development of Prussia. Contemptuous of the luxury of his father's reign, he instituted a system of rigid and efficient economy at court and transferred public financial administration from local governments to the central royal authority. He was thus able to repay the debts incurred by his father and greatly improve the financial condition of Prussia. He built up industry by forbidding the import of finished goods and the export of raw materials, and directed the colonization of nonpopulous areas, especially in East Prussia. He also instituted compulsory elementary education in Prussia. The development of the army was his fondest achievement; he was particularly proud of the Potsdam Guard, composed of exceptionally tall men hired, and sometimes kidnapped, from all parts of Europe. Under his supervision the number of soldiers in the army was increased from about 38,000 to some 83,500 and Prussia became the third ranking military power in Europe. Frederick William died at Potsdam on May 31, 1740, and was succeeded by his son, Frederick II, the Great.