III.

Kingdom of Prussia

Frederick William’s son, Frederick I, became King of Prussia in 1701, receiving royal recognition in exchange for a promise of military aid to Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I. Frederick’s son, Frederick William I, greatly increased the size of the Prussian army and rebuilt the organization of the state around the military establishment. To his son Frederick II (the Great) he left enormous financial reserves and the best army in Europe. Through the military genius of Frederick the Great, Prussia became a major power in Europe. In 1740 he invaded the Austrian province of Silesia and precipitated the War of the Austrian Succession.

By the end of the Seven Years’ War, in 1763, Prussian territory included Silesia, and in 1772 Frederick annexed Polish Royal Prussia, thus linking his kingdom of Prussia in the east with Brandenburg and the main body of his German possessions in the west. Frederick’s regime was noted as a model of “enlightened despotism”. Frederick William III succeeded to the throne in 1797 and with the aid of his ministers, Baron vom und zum Stein and Prince Karl August von Hardenberg, instituted a series of liberal reforms within the kingdom. From 1801 to 1805, during the Napoleonic Wars, Prussia was dominated by Napoleon I. In 1806, however, Frederick William joined a coalition against Napoleon. Frederick William was defeated, and much of his territory was lost. Prussian fortunes rose after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 that resulted in the fall of the French Empire.