Absolutism in prussia, History

Assignment Help:

Absolutism in Prussia

A slightly different form of absolutism developed in the 1700's in the German- speaking kingdom of Prussia. Originally a small region known as the principality of Brandenburg, it was ruled by a noble family named Hohenzollern, who had their court at the small city of Berlin. In the mid-1600s, they seemed unlikely to become powerful rulers. After the Thirty Years War, their lands were devastated and moreover, although they were Calvinist, most of their territory had remained Lutheran.

However, Prince Frederick William saw a way to overcome these problems. Rather than relying on nobles to help him rule his various regions, which ranged from the agricultural region of Prussia to the east to the commercial port city of Konigsberg in the west, he decided to establish a single government over the entire region and to assess taxes equally on all of it, paid into a single treasury. With this money, he developed an army, which was small compared to the armies of Austria or France during the Thirty Years War. However, he did not dissolve it after the end of the war, instead using it to enter into other, smaller wars and thereby win more territory -- and eventually he was able to unite all of his territories.

To pay for and command this army, he turned to the nobles in the regions of Brandenburg and Prussia, called Junkers. Junkers were somewhat like the Polish nobles or the English gentry in that there were many of them so their estates were not that large. To make money from these smaller estates, they would have to ensure that those who worked the land would be reduced from peasants back to the status of serfs. Frederick William authorized the nobles to re-feudalize Prussia in return for which the nobles would serve in his army as officers and the serfs as soldiers. 


Related Discussions:- Absolutism in prussia

How did eva peron become a prominent figure in argentina, How did Eva Peron...

How did Eva Peron become a prominent figure in Argentina, and why did her popularity continue for so long?

Show the process of reconstruction, Which of the following statements accur...

Which of the following statements accurately describes the Reconstruction plans of both Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson? A. They included extensive plans to rebuild the econo

Social differences between the shang and zhou periods, Ancient China 2000-2...

Ancient China 2000-220 BC. Political and social differences between the Shang and Zhou periods.

What are some of the past definition of human beings, what are some of the ...

what are some of the past definition of human beings? Were they adequate? What definitions are current?

Four major events that ended reconstruction, What are the four major events...

What are the four major events that ended Reconstruction?

Similarities between china and japan, Select and justify three similarities...

Select and justify three similarities between China and Japan, 1500 to 1800, that had major effects on their positions at 1800.

Position paper two statement, POSITION PAPER TWO STATEMENT The United S...

POSITION PAPER TWO STATEMENT The United States Constitution is a document that specifies the powers of the different branches of the government of the United States. There are

The american federal republic, The American Federal Republic The govern...

The American Federal Republic The government of the United States is a federal republic, and is predicated on the belief that government exists to protect the liberties of its

Choose realism or impressionism, Choose realism or impressionism and discus...

Choose realism or impressionism and discuss how it has manifested in any area of the humanities (i.e., painting, sculpture, literature, music, etc.), and give an example from any d

Describe how president clinton''s transgressions, Nixon got "caught in the ...

Nixon got "caught in the act" of openly deceiving the American public and resigned in disgrace in 1974. Historians lament the resulting loss of political idealism and prestige of p

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd