Frederick William

Frederick William (1620-1688), Elector of Brandenburg (1640-1688), called the Great Elector, who laid the foundations for the strong Prussian state of the 18th century.

The son of Elector George William, Frederick William was born on February 12, 1620, in Berlin. He succeeded to the electorate during the Thirty Years' War, when Swedish forces were occupying Brandenburg. Concluding an armistice with Sweden, he was able to repair some of the war's damage to the country. He remained neutral until the Peace of Westphalia ended the war in 1648; by that treaty he received eastern Pomerania, along the Baltic Sea, and some smaller territories. Over the next 30 years, by alliances and wars and systematic strengthening of his army, Frederick William acquired more lands and power for Brandenburg. In 1656, during the war between Sweden and Poland, he switched his allegiance from Poland to Sweden and back to Poland in return for the latter's recognition of his suzerainty over East Prussia, until then a Polish dependency. In 1675 he defeated invading Swedish forces at Fehrbellin and conquered western Pomerania, long coveted for its important seaports, but at the insistence of France, Sweden's ally, he relinquished the territory at the Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1679.

Frederick William centralized government administration and improved almost every area of public affairs, especially industry and commerce. After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 he admitted large numbers of Huguenots, who, with the technological skills they had acquired in France, aided in the development of Prussian industry. He also created the Prussian navy, founded colonies in west Africa, and established the Royal Library in Berlin. He died in Potsdam on May 9, 1688.