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

Indicate which two cultures out of latino americans, In a 2-3 page paper in...

In a 2-3 page paper in APA format, indicate which two cultures out of Latino Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americas, are the most dramatically different

What cause the plains indians to rvolt against the americans, why did congr...

why did congress and new president Andrew johnson not agree with lincolns plan of reconstruction? what was the purpose of the military reconstruction act? what action by cong

Groups of high revenue regions, What is the difference between two groups o...

What is the difference between two groups of high revenue regions, where does their revenue come from?

Ancient chinese and the nomadic peoples, Usually relations between the anci...

Usually relations between the ancient chinese and the nomadic peoples they encountered were? relaxed tense mutually beneficial cordial, but distant

Explain webling''s legal status in colonial virginia, Known you that I, Wes...

Known you that I, Wessell Webling of London, brewer,f ro and in consideration that I have been furnished and set out and am to be transported unto Virginia at the cost and charges

Propose the asian migration hypothesis - explain, Who was the first man to ...

Who was the first man to propose the Asian migration hypothesis that is widely accepted today?

Explore the support systems, Explore the support systems free african-ameri...

Explore the support systems free african-american, irish and german immigrants created

Protect anglo-american trade, True or false The Washington administration s...

True or false The Washington administration sided with Britain in its war against France only because it wanted to protect Anglo-American trade

American declaration of independence, Read the pamphlet quickly. Do not try...

Read the pamphlet quickly. Do not try to capture every word or every nuance. Get the sense of what Paine is urging the colonists to do. It may help to think about the following que

History of gendered movements since the 1700s, Create a timeline with at le...

Create a timeline with at least 8 points that shows the global history of gendered movements since the 1700s.

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