Frederick II, the Great, overcame the resource limitations within Prussia by mastering three aspects of the western way of war: the ability to finance war, possessing a highly disciplined military, and an aggressive mindset toward achieving quick decisive victory, which established Prussia as a major European power. Frederick II accomplished this feat while being surrounded by powerful neighbors that possessed larger populations, armies, and financial excess. His initial assessment on the state
The Bohemian king Ferdinand of Habsburg, aware of the Hohenzollern ambitions, had immediately rejected the agreement; nevertheless, in 1675 the "Great Elector" Frederick William of Brandenburg raised claim to the principalities, when with the death of Duke George William of Legnica the Piast line finally had died out. At that time no attempt had been made to implement these old treaty provisions, and when in the
philosophes who believed that everything should be thought of in a rational way that was based off of reason, not faith. Frederick the Great of Prussia and Joseph II of Austria were considered to be Enlightened rulers. By implementing modern changes that supported knowledge, education, and the arts for the betterment of the country and its society, Frederick the Great and Joseph II furthered the development of Enlightenment principles in contrast to the system that was previously enforced. However,
Frederick II of Prussia, commonly known as Frederick the Great, ruled Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He led Prussia through multiple wars, most notably the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years War. His greatest, and perhaps most debated, accomplishment involved the annexation of Silesia in 1740 and the three subsequent wars that followed it. His campaigns brought about the ascendance of Prussia from a second rate German principality to a major continental power. His command
despotism. In Frederick II’s Political Testament of 1752, he acknowledges and accepts the idea of religious tolerance. He even goes so far as to say that, “If the sovereign…declares himself for one religion or another…the religion persecuted will leave the fatherland, and millions of subjects will enrich our neighbors by their skill and industry.” Basically, Frederick believes that religious intolerance only leaves the country disabled. In his work, Essay on Forms of Government, Frederick attacks the
Frederick the Great of Prussia and Joseph II of Austria adopted the newfound ideas of the Enlightenment to different extents with Frederick the Great advancing the ideas by implementing religious toleration, freedom of speech and press, and setting a single code of laws for all of his subjects and not advancing them by not abolishing serfdom for fear of upsetting the “Junkers”, or Prussian nobility; Joseph II advanced the ideas of the Enlightenment eagerly by completely abolishing serfdom paying
Frederick II, the Great was the King of Prussia from 1740-1786, he was the successor of his father Frederick William I (Kishlansky, Geary and O'Brien). Catherine the Great was married to Peter III and the Empress of Russia during the years of 1762-1796 (Kishlansky, Geary and O'Brien). Even though they were both leaders that made lasting changes for their countries they had different methods of ruling, making different contributions along with mistakes. The following paragraphs will give more detail
Frederick II, known as Frederick the Great, was Prussia’s king from 1740 to1786. He established Prussia as a strong military power by winning wars and expanding territories. After reading the three sources Frederick is similar to a political leader such as a governor, senator, or president. Frederick II was a very noble man; he combined the qualities of a warrior king with those of an enlightened despot. Rulers are relatable to political leaders they go through a great extent to make decisions that
desirable. Frederick the Great, Catherine the Great, and Joseph II are good examples of Enlightened Despots. Frederick II (Frederick the Great), the most famous Prussian absolute monarch and a military genius, pursued an aggressive foreign policy. In 1740 he seized from Austria the province of Silesia. His action culminated in a major European conflict, the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), in which he was pitted against a powerful European coalition of Austria, Russia, and France. Frederick, aided only
eighteenth century, many rulers started to combine their absolute power with including the newly granted rights of the people. The belief also shifted from Divine Right to one that the people gave the king his power which led to kings like Frederick II of Prussia to rule with his people’s interests in mind. To begin with, Machiavelli’s “The Prince” laid out the foundation of what absolute rulers should be. Machiavelli thought that princes should be well educated in war since he would then have the
In this essay I will discuss the causes, the events, and finally the results of this important war, which consisted of the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War. The War of the Austrian Succession began as King Frederick II gained the throne to Prussia, and in less than a year ordered his troops to take and occupy the large Austrian province of Silesia. The leader of Austria was Maria Theresa; Although she was an inexperienced leader, she was capable of arousing other groups
Napoleon versus Frederick the Great I have chosen to compare Napoleon to Frederick the Great. I will compare these two extremely influential leaders through numerous techniques; including their military history, the administration of their territories, the legacy they left upon their countries, among others. Napoleon was a great soldier that graduated from military school at the age of sixteen and quickly worked his way through the ranks. Napoleon was a brilliant leader in battle and consistently
From Prussia with Love: A History of the Factory Model of U.S. Education Public education in the U.S. is modeled after the 18th century Prussian factory style system of education which hinders creativity and ultimate academic success. To understand the roots of modern mass education, one must begin in Prussia. In 1806, the nation- state suffered a huge military blow and Napoleon’s army conquered much of its territory. The Prussian government decided that the way to overcome their loss and create
The Achievements and Blunders of Fredrick and Catherine the Great Born in the 1700’s both Fredrick the Great, King of Prussia, and Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, had many achievements stemming from their military standpoint, political clout, as well as their unique leadership ideals. (Kagan, Ozment, Turner, and Frank 499, 544). Their drive and determination to make their nations better and more advanced drove them to do extraordinary things. Although they achieved greatness, each had
Having been enlightened by common philosophies of his time during his short reign of the Habsburg Empire in the late 1700s, the despot, Joseph II, having a clear vision of his empire as powerful and benevolent, employed his power to enact many long desired, Enlightenment-influenced reforms over his people. The Despot’s reigning ideas were characterized as modern and enlightened as they followed the rational thought presented by popular philosophes, including Voltaire, Father Hidalgo, and Thomas Jefferson
to nominate Joseph II for the Enlightened Despot Hall of Fame, as I believe he embodies both the Enlightened and Despotic sides perfectly. When Joseph II was crowned Holy Roman Emperor he took after the Enlightened Despot ways of his mother, Maria Theresa. He continued many of his mother’s ideas and reforms, except with very different objective. Joseph’s ultimate goal was to bring everyone under his absolute rule with realistic reforms more focused on the Enlightenment. Joseph II was very passionate
all good order.” Catherine the Great said that Peter “did no... ... middle of paper ... ...“did not amount to complete emancipation or civil and religious equality” for all. In conclusion, the rulers in the second half of the C20th- Joseph II and Catherine the Great were more enlightened than their predecessors Maria-Theresa and Peter the Great, who realised that they had not done the good that they could have done. But Catherine and Joseph’s reforms cannot be said to be wholly enlightened
Catherine II was motivated by the ideals of enlightened absolutism because she read the works of enlightenment writers and believed that certain reforms would ensure the well-being of her subjects. Catherine’s first major reform involved Russia’s legal system, which
penal system and terminating police denunciation. As a self proclaimed enlightened monarch Catherine also worked to incorporate modern enlightenment into Russian education. By educating the younger portion of society on modern ideas she was setting her adopted country up for success in the future. With an enlightened and modern view, Russians in the future world would have been able to understand dominate because of the education and the legacy left by Catherine the Great. This is just another reason
Frederick The Great When discussing the topic if it is better to feared or loved when running a monarchy Niccolò Machiavelli said “One should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it is much safer to be feared than loved.” Frederick the great defined the odds of Machiavelli’s philosophy, because he was both an Absolute and enlightened ruler in the 17 century from 1740 until 1786. He showed through his rule that is possible to be both feared and loved and still