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

Medieval and renaissance periods is allegory, One of the most common uses o...

One of the most common uses of imagery in the medieval and Renaissance periods is allegory. What is an allegory? Describe how at least one of the examples of art in this week's lec

Explain radicalism and limitations of american revolution, 1. Explain the r...

1. Explain the radicalism and limitations of the American Revolution. What were American grievances? Was there anything "revolutionary" about the conduct of war? 2. Explain the

Were internal factors responsible for the fall, Were internal factors respo...

Were internal factors responsible for the fall of the Roman Empire? I answered yes (150-200 words of explanation)

Economic foundations of the slave trade, Examine the slave trade. Discuss i...

Examine the slave trade. Discuss its African and trans-Saharan roots. What were the economic foundations of the slave trade? Examine the middle passage of the slave trade. Discuss

Was disunion inevitable or could it have been prevented, Was disunion inevi...

Was disunion inevitable or could it have been prevented? Consider both long term (from the Articles of Confederation through the 1840s) and proximate (1850s-1861) political, social

Development of industrial united states-working condition, Development of I...

Development of Industrial United States-Working Condition Workers did not share fully in America's tremendous prosperity. Despite working as much as twelve hours a day, six day

What is the continental congress?, What is the Continental Congress? Wh...

What is the Continental Congress? When the French and Indian War ended in 1763, Britain and America were seemingly on a collision course. With the French Empire now eliminated

Digital technologies democratized the art of photography, Has the developme...

Has the development of digital technologies democratized the art of photography? How has this affected our appreciation of the photographer as artist and photography as an art form

Government''s role in the american economy, To what extent has the governme...

To what extent has the government's role in the American economy been characterized by laissez-faire capitalism? Why? Provide at least 3 examples answering the whole question. t

Describe the social and economic background, Describe the social and econom...

Describe the social and economic background of those who joined the 1920's Klan and why were upper-class whites generally not interested in joining the klan?

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