Brandenburg–Prussia Brandenburg-Preußen (German) | |
|---|---|
| 1618–1701 | |
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.svg) Brandenburg–Prussia within and outside of theHoly Roman Empire (1618) | |
| Status | Personal union between theMargraviate of Brandenburg andDuchy of Prussia |
| Capital | Berlin andKönigsberg |
| Religion | Population:Lutheran Elector-Duke:Calvinist |
| Government | Feudal monarchies |
| Elector-Duke | |
• 1618–1619 | John Sigismund |
• 1619–1640 | George William |
• 1640–1688 | Frederick William |
• 1688–1701 | Frederick III (Frederick I) |
| Historical era | Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation |
| August 27, 1618 | |
| September 19, 1657 | |
| January 18, 1701 | |
| Today part of | Germany Poland |
| History ofBrandenburg andPrussia |
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| Present |
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Brandenburg–Prussia (German:Brandenburg-Preußen;Low German:Brannenborg-Preußen) is thehistoriographic denomination for theearly modern realm of the Brandenburgian Royal dynasty of theHouse of Hohenzollern between 1618 and 1701. Based in theElectorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenzollern intermarried with the branch ruling theDuchy of Prussia, and secured succession upon the latter's extinction in the male line in 1618.
Another consequence of the intermarriage between the nobility was the acquisition / incorporation of the lands far to the west of Brandenburg–Prussia located in western Germany of theHoly Roman Empire (A.D. c. 800 / 962 to 1806), and situated in the lowerRhenish /Rhine River of the principalities of theDuchy of Cleves,County of Mark andCounty of Ravensberg after the signing and agreements in theTreaty of Xanten in1614.
TheThirty Years' War (1618–1648) was especially devastating. The Elector changed sides three times, and as a resultProtestant groups ofEvangelical Lutheran /Reformed /Calvinist and opposingRoman Catholic armies swept the lands back and forth, killing, burning, seizing men and confiscating any food or useful supplies. It is estimated that upwards of half the population ofCentral Europe /Germany of the lateMedieval / Middle Ages period were killed or dislocated.Berlin and the other major cities were in ruins, and recovery took decades. By thePeace of Westphalia, which ended theThirty Years' War in1648, Brandenburg also gained theBishopric of Minden andPrincipality of Halberstadt, also the succession in theFarther Pomerania (incorporated in theTreaty of Stettin of1653), and theDuchy of Magdeburg (incorporated later in1680). With theTreaty of Bromberg (1657), these concluded during theSecond Northern War (1655–1660), the electors were also freed of oldPolish vassalage and loyalty by theTreaty of Cracow gaining more independence for the Duchy of Prussia and gained territories ofLauenburg–Bütow andDraheim. TheTreaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1679) expanded theprovince of Brandenburgian Pomerania to the lowerOder River.
The second half of the17th century laid the basis forPrussia to become one of thegreat players in European politics. The emerging Brandenburg–Prussian military potential, based on the introduction of astanding army in 1653, was symbolized by the widely noted victories in theBattle of Warsaw in1656 andBattle of Fehrbellin (1675) and by theGreat Sleigh Drive (1678). Brandenburg–Prussia also established aBrandenburg Navy for on the nearby waters of theBaltic Sea,Gulf of Finland and passages west to theNorth Sea with access to theNorth Atlantic Ocean and additionalGerman colonies were established along theBrandenburger Gold Coast andArguin.Frederick William, known as "The Great Elector", opened up his realm of Brandenburg–Prussia to large-scale immigration ("Peuplierung") of mostlyProtestant refugees from all across Europe ("Exulanten"), most notablyHuguenot immigration fromFrance following theEdict of Potsdam. Frederick William also started to centralize Brandenburg–Prussia's administration and reduce the influence of the outlying landed estates.
In1701,Frederick III, Elector of Brandenburg, succeeded in elevating his status to the title ofKing in Prussia. This was made possible by theDuchy of Prussia's sovereign status outside the jurisdiction of theHoly Roman Empire of the German Nation, and approval by the RoyalHouse of Habsburg inVienna inAustria, and theHoly Roman Emperor and other European royals in the course of forming alliances for theWar of the Spanish Succession and theGreat Northern War. From 1701 onward, the Hohenzollern dynasty domains were referred to as theKingdom of Prussia, or simply Prussia. Legally, thepersonal union between Brandenburg and Prussia continued until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire byNapoleon Bonaparte in 1806. However, by this time the emperor's overlordship over the empire had become in recent decades of a "figleaf"legal fiction. Hence, after 1701, Brandenburg wasde facto treated as part of the Prussian kingdom. Frederick and his successors continued to centralize and expand the state, transforming the personal union of politically diverse principalities typical for the Brandenburg–Prussian era into asystem of provinces subordinate to theStadtschloss, Berlin (Royal or Berlin Palace) in the capital city ofBerlin.
TheMargraviate of Brandenburg had been the seat of the main branch of the Hohenzollerns, who wereprince-electors in theHoly Roman Empire, since 1415.[1] In 1525, by theTreaty of Krakow, theDuchy of Prussia was created through partial secularization of theState of the Teutonic Order.[1] It was a vassal of theKingdom of Poland and was governed by DukeAlbert of Prussia, a member of acadet branch of theHouse of Hohenzollern.[2] On behalf of her mother Elisabeth of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollern,Anna Marie of Brunswick-Lüneburg became Albert's second wife in 1550, and bore him his successorAlbert Frederick.[3] In 1563, the Brandenburgian branch of the Hohenzollern was granted the right of succession by the Polish crown.[3] Albert Frederick became duke of Prussia after Albert's death in 1568.[3] His mother died in the same year, and thereafter he showed signs of mental disorder.[3] Because of the duke's illness,[4] Prussia was governed by Albert's nephew[3]George Frederick of Hohenzollern-Ansbach-Jägersdorf (1577–1603).[1] In 1573, Albert Frederick marriedMarie Eleonore of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, with whom he had several daughters.[4]
In 1594, Albert Frederick's then 14-year-old daughterAnna married the son ofJoachim Frederick of Hohenzollern-Brandenburg,John Sigismund.[5] The marriage ensured the right of succession in the Prussian duchy as well as inCleves.[5] Upon George Frederick's death in 1603, the regency of the Prussian duchy passed to Joachim Frederick.[1] Also in 1603, theTreaty of Gera was concluded by the members of theHouse of Hohenzollern, ruling that their territories were not to be internally divided in the future.[1]
The Electors of Brandenburg inherited the Duchy of Prussia upon Albert Frederick's death in 1618,[6] but the duchy continued to be held as a fief under thePolish Crown until 1656/7.[7] Since John Sigismund had suffered a stroke in 1616 and as a consequence was severely handicapped physically as well as mentally, his wife Anna ruled the Duchy of Prussia in his name until John Sigismund died of a second stroke in 1619, aged 47.[6]
From 1619 to 1640,George William was elector of Brandenburg and duke of Prussia. He strove, but proved unable to break the dominance of theElectorate of Saxony in theUpper Saxon Circle.[8] The Brandenburg–Saxon antagonism rendered the defense of the circle ineffective, and it was subsequently overrun byAlbrecht von Wallenstein during theThirty Years' War.[8] While George William had claimed neutrality before, the presence of Wallenstein's army forced him to join the Catholic-Imperial camp in theTreaty of Königsberg (1627) and accept garrisons.[9] When theSwedish Empireentered the war andadvanced into Brandenburg, George William again claimed neutrality, yetGustavus Adolphus of Sweden compelled George William to join Sweden as an ally by occupying substantial territory in Brandenburg–Prussia and concentrating an army before the town walls ofBerlin.[10] George William did not conclude an alliance, but granted Sweden transit rights, two fortresses and subsidies.[10] Consequently,Roman Catholic armies repeatedly ravaged Brandenburg and other Hohenzollern lands.
During theThirty Years' War, George William was succeeded byFrederick William, born 1620, who became known as "The Great Elector" (Der Große Kurfürst).[11] The character of the young elector had been stamped by hisCalvinist nurturerCalcum, a long stay in theDutch Republic during hisgrand tour, and the events of the war, of which a meeting with his uncleGustavus Adolphus of Sweden inPomerania was among the most impressive.[11]
Frederick William took over Brandenburg–Prussia in times of a political, economical and demographic crisis caused by the war.[11] Upon his succession, the new elector retired the Brandenburgian army, but had an army raised again in 1643/44.[12] Whether or not Frederick William concluded a truce and neutrality agreement with Sweden is disputed: while a relevant 1641 document exists, it was never ratified and has repeatedly been described as a falsification. However, it is not disputed that he established the growth of Brandenburg–Prussia.[13]
At the time, the forces of theSwedish Empire dominated Northern Germany, and along withher allyFrance, Sweden became guarantee power of thePeace of Westphalia in 1648. The Swedish aim of controlling theBaltic Sea by establishingdominions on the coastline ("dominium maris baltici")[14] thwarted Frederick William's ambitions to gain control over theOder estuary withStettin (Szczecin) inPomerania.[15]
TheBrandenburgian margraves hadlong sought to expand northwards, connecting land-locked Brandenburg to the Baltic Sea. TheTreaty of Grimnitz (1529) guaranteed Brandenburgian succession in theDuchy of Pomerania upon the extinction of the localHouse of Pomerania, and would have come into effect by the death of Pomeranian dukeBogislaw XIV in 1637.[12] By theTreaty of Stettin (1630) however, Bogislaw XIV had also effectively handed over control of the duchy to Sweden,[16] whorefused to give in to the Brandenburgian claim. The Peace of Westphalia settled for a partition of the duchy between Brandenburg and Sweden, who determined the exact border in theTreaty of Stettin (1653).[17] Sweden retained the western part including the lowerOder (Swedish Pomerania), while Brandenburg gained the eastern part (Farther Pomerania).[17] Frederick William was dissatisfied by this outcome, and the acquisition of the wholeDuchy of Pomerania was to become one of the main goals of his foreign policy.[18]
In the Peace of Westphalia, Frederick William was compensated forWestern Pomerania with the secularized bishoprics ofHalberstadt andMinden and the right of succession to the likewise secularizedArchbishopric of Magdeburg.[15] With Halberstadt, Brandenburg–Prussia also gained several smaller territories: theLordship of Derenburg, theCounty of Regenstein, theLordship of Klettenberg and theLordship of Lohra.[17] This was primarily due toFrench efforts to counterbalance the power of theHabsburg emperor by strengthening theHohenzollern, and while Frederick William valued these territories lower than Western Pomerania, they became step-stones for the creation of a closed, dominant realm in Germany in the long run.[15]
Of all Brandenburg–Prussian territories, theElectorate of Brandenburg was among the most devastated at the end of the Thirty Years' War.[15] Already before the war, the population density and wealth in the electorate had been low compared to other territories of the empire, and the war had destroyed 60 towns, 48 castles and about 5,000 villages.[15] An average of 50% of the population was dead, in some regions only 10% survived.[19] The rural population, due to deaths and flight to the towns, had dropped from 300,000 before the war to 75,000 thereafter.[19] In the important towns ofBerlin-Cölln andFrankfurt an der Oder, the population drop was one third and two-thirds, respectively.[19] Some of the territories gained after the war were likewise devastated: inPomerania,only one third of the population survived,[20] andMagdeburg, once among the wealthiest cities of the empire, wasburned down with most of the population slain.[21] Least hit were theDuchy of Prussia, which was onlyperipherally involved in the war,[5] andMinden.[17] In 1670, the Great Elector invited Jews expelled fromVienna to settle in Brandenburg.[22]
Despite efforts to resettle the devastated territories, it took some of them until the mid-18th century to reach the pre-war population density.[19]
In June 1651, Frederick William broke the provisions of thePeace of Westphalia by invadingJülich-Berg, bordering his possessions inCleves-Mark at the lowerRhine river.[23] TheTreaty of Xanten, which had ended theWar of the Jülich succession between Brandenburg and thecount palatines in 1614, had partitioned the onceunited Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg among the belligerents, and Jülich-Berg was since ruled by the Catholic counts ofPalatinate-Neuburg. After theThirty Years' War,Wolfgang William, Count Palatine of Neuburg, disregarded a 1647 agreement with Frederick William which had favored the Protestants in the duchies, while Frederick William insisted that the agreement be upheld.[24] Besides these religious motives, Frederick William's invasion also aimed at territorial expansion.[23]
The conflict had the potential to spark another international war[25] since Wolfgang William wanted to have the still not demobilized army ofLorraine, which continued to operate in the region despite the Peace of Westphalia, to intervene on his side, and Frederick William sought support of theDutch Republic.[23] The latter however followed a policy of neutrality and refused to aid Frederick William's campaign, which was furthermore opposed by theImperial estates as well as the local ones.[25] Politically isolated, Frederick William aborted the campaign after theTreaty of Cleves negotiated by Imperial mediators in October 1651.[25] The underlying religious dispute was only solved in 1672.[26] While military confrontations were avoided and the Brandenburg–Prussian army was primarily occupied with stealing cattle (hence the name), it considerably lowered Frederick William's reputation.[27]
Due to his wartime experiences, Frederick William was convinced that Brandenburg–Prussia would only prevail with astanding army.[12][28] Traditionally, raising and financingarmy reserves was a privilege of the estates, yet Frederick William envisioned a standing army financed independently of the estates.[12] He succeeded in getting the consent and necessary financial contributions of the estates in alandtag decree of 26 July 1653.[28] In turn, he confirmed several privileges of the knights, including tax exemption, assertion of jurisdiction and police powers on their estates (Patrimonialgerichtsbarkeit) and the upholding ofserfdom (Leibeigenschaft,Bauernlegen).[29]
Initially, the estates' contributions were limited to six years, yet Frederick William obliged the estates to continue the payments thereafter and created a dedicated office to collect the contributions.[29] The contributions were confirmed by the estates in 1662, but transformed in 1666 by decree from a real estate tax to an excise tax.[29] Since 1657, the towns had to contribute not soldiers, but monetary payments to the army, and since 1665, the estates were able to free themselves from contributing soldiers by additional payments.[29] The initial army size of 8,000 men[30] had risen to 25,000[12] to 30,000 men by 1688.[30] By then, Frederick William had also accomplished his second goal, to finance the army independently of the estates.[12] By 1688, these military costs amounted to considerable 1,500,000talers or half of the state budget.[12] Ensuring a solid financial basis for the army, undisturbed by the estates, was the foremost objective of Frederick William's administrative reforms.[31] He regarded military success as the only way to gain international reputation.[13]
The Swedishinvasion of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the following year started theSecond Northern War.[32] Frederick William offered protection to theRoyal Prussian towns in theTreaty of Rinsk, but had to yield Swedish military supremacy and withdraw to his Prussian duchy.[33] Pursued by Swedish forces to thePrussian capital,[34] Frederick William made peace and allied with Sweden, taking the Duchy of Prussia andErmland (Ermeland, Warmia) as fiefs fromCharles X Gustav of Sweden in theTreaty of Königsberg in January 1656.[35] The alliance proved victorious in theBattle of Warsaw in June, enhancing the elector's international reputation.[7] Continued pressure on Charles X Gustav resulted in him conceding fullsovereignty in Ducal Prussia and Ermland to Frederick William by theTreaty of Labiau in November to ensure the maintenance of the alliance.[36] TheTreaty of Radnot, concluded in December by Sweden and her allies, further awardedGreater Poland to Brandenburg–Prussia in case of a victory.[36]
When the anti-Swedish coalition however gained the upper hand, Frederick William changed sides when Polish kingJohn II Casimir Vasa confirmed his sovereignty in Prussia, but not in Ermland, in theTreaty of Wehlau-Bromberg in 1657.[5] The duchy would legally revert to Poland if the Hohenzollern dynastic line became extinct.[37] Hohenzollern sovereignty in the Prussian duchy was confirmed in thePeace of Oliva, which ended the war in 1660.[5] Brandenburg–Prussian campaigns inSwedish Pomerania did not result in permanent gains.[38]
In 1672, theFranco-Dutch War broke out, with Brandenburg–Prussia involved as an ally of theDutch Republic. This alliance was based on a treaty of 1669, and resulted in French occupation of Brandenburg–PrussianCleves.[39] In June 1673, Frederick William abandoned the Dutch alliance and concluded a subsidy treaty with France, who in return withdrew from Cleves.[39] When theHoly Roman Empire declared war on France, a so-calledReichskrieg, Brandenburg–Prussia again changed sides and joined the imperial forces.[39]France pressured her allySweden to relieve her by attacking Brandenburg–Prussia from the north.[40]Charles XI of Sweden, dependent on French subsidies, reluctantly occupied the BrandenburgianUckermark in 1674, starting the German theater of theScanian War (Brandenburg–Swedish War).[40] Frederick William reacted promptly by marching his armies from theRhine to northern Brandenburg, and encountered the rear of the Swedish army, which was in the process of crossing a swamp, in theBattle of Fehrbellin (1675).[41] Though a minor skirmish from a military perspective, Frederick William's victory turned out to be of huge symbolic significance.[42] The "Great Elector" started a counter-offensive, pursuing the retreating Swedish forces throughSwedish Pomerania.[43]
Polish kingJohn III Sobieski planned to restore Polishsuzerainty over the Duchy of Prussia, and for this purpose concluded an alliance with France on 11 June 1675.[44] France promised assistance and subsidies, while Sobieski in turn allowed French recruitment inPoland-Lithuania and promised to aidHungarian rebel forces who were to distract theHabsburgs from theirwar against France.[44] For this plan to work out, Poland-Lithuania had to first conclude herwar against the Ottoman Empire, which French diplomacy despite great efforts failed to achieve.[45] Furthermore, Sobieski was opposed by thePapacy, by Polish gentry who saw theOttomans as the greater threat, and by Polishmagnates bribed by Berlin andVienna.[46] Inner-Polish Catholic opposition to an intervention on the Protestant Hungarian rebels' side added to the resentments.[47] Thus, whileTreaty of Żurawno ended the Polish–Ottoman war in 1676, Sobieski sided with the emperor instead,[47] and the plan for a Prussian campaign was dropped.[46]
By 1678, Frederick William hadcleared Swedish Pomerania and occupied most of it, with the exception ofRügen which was held byDenmark–Norway.[43] This was followed by another success against Sweden, when Frederick William clearedPrussia of Swedish forces in what became known as theGreat Sleigh Drive.[48] However, whenLouis XIV of France concluded the Dutch War by theNijmegen treaties, he marched his armies east to relieve his Swedish ally, and forced Frederick William to basically return to thestatus quo ante bellum by theTreaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1679).[39] Though the Scanian War resulted only in minor territorial gains, attaching a small strip of the Swedish Pomeranian right bank of the lower Oder toBrandenburg–Prussian Pomerania, the war resulted in a huge gain of prestige for the elector.[41]
Frederick III of Brandenburg, since 1701 alsoFrederick I of Prussia, was born inKönigsberg in 1657.[49] Already in the last years of the reign of his father, the friendly relations with France established afterSaint Germain (1679) had cooled, not least because of theHuguenot question.[50] In 1686, Frederick William turned toward theHabsburgemperor, with whom he concluded an alliance on 22 December 1686.[50] For this alliance, Frederick William relinquished rights onSilesia in favor of the Habsburgs, and in turn received the SilesianCounty of Schwiebus which bordered theNeumark.[50] Frederick III, present at the negotiations as crown prince, assured the Habsburgs of the continuation of the alliance once he was in power, and secretly concluded an amendment to return Schwiebus to the Habsburgs, which he eventually did in 1694.[50] Throughout his reign, Brandenburg–Prussia remained a Habsburg ally and repeatedly deployed troops to fight against France.[50] In 1693, Frederick III began to sound out the possibility of an elevation of his status at the Habsburg court inVienna, and while the first attempt was unsuccessful, elevation to a king remained the central goal on his agenda.[50]
The envisioned status elevation did not merely serve a decorative purpose, but was regarded a necessity to prevail in political competition.[50] Though Frederick III held the elevated status of aprince elector, this status was also gained byMaximilian I of Bavaria in 1623, during theThirty Years' War, also by theElector of the Palatinate in thePeace of Westphalia (1648), and byErnest Augustus of theHouse of Hanover in 1692.[51] Thus, the formerly exclusive club of the prince-electors now had nine members, six of whom were secular princes, and further changes seemed possible.[52] Within the circle of prince-electors,August the Strong,Elector of Saxony, had secured thePolish crown in 1697, and the House of Hanover had secured succession of theBritish throne.[52] From Frederick III's perspective, stagnation in status meant loss of power, and this perspective seemed to be confirmed when the European royals ignored Brandenburg–Prussia's claims in theTreaty of Rijswijk (1697).[52]
Frederick decided to raise the Duchy of Prussia to a kingdom. Within the Holy Roman Empire, no one could call himself king except the emperor and the king of Bohemia. However, Prussia was outside the empire, and the Hohenzollerns were fully sovereign over it.[52] The practicability of this plan was doubted by some of his advisors, and in any case the crown was only valuable if recognized by the European nobility, most important theHoly Roman Emperor.[52] In 1699, negotiations were renewed with emperorLeopold I, who in turn was in need of allies since theWar of the Spanish Succession was about to break out.[52] On 16 November 1700, the emperor approved Frederick's coronation in theCrown Treaty.[52] With respect toPoland–Lithuania, who held the provinces ofRoyal Prussia andErmland, it was agreed that Frederick would call himselfKing in Prussia, instead of Kingof Prussia.[53]Great Britain and theDutch Republic, for similar reasons as the emperor, accepted Frederick's elevation prior to the coronation.[54]
On 17 January 1701, Frederick dedicated the royal coat of arms, the Prussian black eagle, and motto, "suum cuique".[55] On 18 January, he crowned himself and his wifeSophie Charlotte in a baroque ceremony inKönigsberg Castle.[55]
On 28 January, Augustus the Strong congratulated Frederick, yet not as Polish king, but as Saxon elector.[53] In February,Denmark–Norway accepted Frederick's elevation in hope of an ally in theGreat Northern War, and theTsardom of Russia likewise approved in 1701.[54] Most princes of theHoly Roman Empire followed.[56]Charles XII of Sweden accepted Frederick as Prussian king in 1703.[54] In 1713,France andSpain also accepted Frederick's royal status.[56]
The coronation was not accepted by theTeutonic Order, who despite the secularization of theDuchy of Prussiain 1525 upheld claims to the region.[54] TheGrand Master protested at the emperor's court, and thepope sent a circular to allCatholic regents to not accept Frederick's royal status.[53] Until 1787, papal documents continued to speak of the Prussian kings as "Margraves of Brandenburg".[53] Neither did the Polish–Lithuanian nobility accept Frederick's royal status, seeing the Polish province ofRoyal Prussia endangered, and only in 1764[57] was the Prussian kingship accepted.[58]
Since Brandenburg was still legally part of the Holy Roman Empire, the personal union between Brandenburg and Prussia technically continued until the empire's dissolution in 1806. However, the emperor's power was only nominal by this time, and Brandenburg soon came to be treated as ade facto province of the Prussian kingdom. Although Frederick was still only an elector within the portions of his domain that were part of the empire, he only acknowledged the emperor's overlordship over them in a formal way.
In the mid-16th century, themargraves of Brandenburg had become highly dependent on the estates (counts, lords, knights and towns, no prelates due to theProtestant Reformation in 1538).[59] The margraviate's liabilities and tax income as well as the margrave's finances were controlled by theKreditwerk, an institution not controlled by the elector, and theGroßer Ausschuß ("Great Committee") of the estates.[60] This was due to concessions made byJoachim II in 1541 in turn for financial aid by the estates, however, theKreditwerk went bankrupt between 1618 and 1625.[60] The margraves further had to yield the veto of the estates in all issues concerning the "better or worse of the country", in all legal commitments, and in all issues concerning pawn or sale of the elector's real property.[60]
To reduce the influence of the estates,Joachim Frederick in 1604 created a council calledGeheimer Rat für die Kurmark ("Privy Council for the Electorate"), which instead of the estates was to function as the supreme advisory council for the elector.[60] While the council was permanently established in 1613, it failed to gain any influence until 1651 due to theThirty Years' War.[60]
Until after the Thirty Years' War, the territories of Brandenburg–Prussia were politically independent from each other,[31][59] connected only by the common feudal superior.[28][31]Frederick William, who envisioned the transformation of thepersonal union into areal union,[28] started to centralize the Brandenburg–Prussian government with an attempt to establish theGeheimer Rat as a central authority for all territories in 1651, but this project proved to be unfeasible.[30] Instead, the elector continued to appoint a governor (Kurfürstlicher Rat) for each territory, who in most cases was a member of theGeheimer Rat.[30] The most powerful institution in the territories remained the governments of the estates (Landständische Regierung, namedOberratsstube in Prussia andGeheime Landesregierung in Mark and Cleves), which were the highest government agencies regarding jurisdiction, finances and administration.[30] The elector attempted to balance the estates' governments by creatingAmtskammer chambers to administer and coordinate the elector's domains, tax income and privileges.[30] Such chambers were introduced in Brandenburg in 1652, in Cleves and Mark in 1653, in Pomerania in 1654, in Prussia in 1661 and in Magdeburg in 1680.[30] Also in 1680, theKreditwerk came under the aegis of the elector.[29]
Frederick William's excise tax (Akzise), which since 1667 replaced the property tax raised in Brandenburg for Brandenburg–Prussia's standing army with the estates' consent, was raised by the elector without consultation of the estates.[29] The conclusion of theSecond Northern War had strengthened the elector politically, enabling him to reform the constitution of Cleves and Mark in 1660 and 1661 to introduce officials loyal to him and independent of the local estates.[29] In the Duchy of Prussia, he confirmed the traditional privileges of the estates in 1663,[29] but the latter accepted the caveat that these privileges were not to be used to interfere with the exertion of the elector's sovereignty.[30] As in Brandenburg, Frederick William ignored the privilege of the Prussian estates to confirm or veto taxes raised by the elector: while in 1656, anAkzise was raised with the estates' consent, the elector by force collected taxes not approved by the Prussian estates for the first time in 1674.[30] Since 1704, the Prussian estates had de facto relinquished their right to approve the elector's taxes while formally still entitled to do so.[30] In 1682, the elector introduced anAkzise to Pomerania and in 1688 to Magdeburg,[30] while in Cleves and Mark anAkzise was introduced only between 1716 and 1720.[29] Due to Frederick William's reforms, the state income increased threefold during his reign,[31] and the tax burden per subject reached a level twice as high as inFrance.[61]
Under the rule ofFrederick III (I), the Brandenburg Prussian territories were de facto reduced to provinces of themonarchy.[28] Frederick William's testament would have divided Brandenburg–Prussia among his sons, yet firstborn Frederick III with the emperor's backing succeeded in becoming the sole ruler based on theTreaty of Gera, which forbade a division of Hohenzollern territories.[62] In 1689, a new central chamber for all Brandenburg–Prussian territories was created, calledGeheime Hofkammer (since 1713:Generalfinanzdirektorium).[63] This chamber functioned as a superior agency of the territories'Amtskammer chambers.[63] TheGeneral War Commissariat (Generalkriegskommissariat) emerged as a second central agency, superior to the localKriegskommissariat agencies initially concerned with the administration of the army, but until 1712 transformed into an agency also concerned with general tax and police tasks.[63]
| Name | Year of acquisition | How obtained |
|---|---|---|
| Margraviate of Brandenburg | 1415 | Core territory,Holy Romanelectorate |
| Duchy of Cleves | 1614 | Treaty of Xanten |
| County of Mark | 1614 | Treaty of Xanten |
| County of Ravensberg | 1614 | Treaty of Xanten |
| Duchy of Prussia | 1618 | Succession asPolish vassal,Swedish vassal in 1656 (Treaty of Königsberg), sovereign since 1656 (Treaty of Labiau with Sweden) and 1657 (Treaty of Wehlau-Bromberg with Poland-Lithuania), confirmed in 1660 by the signatories of thePeace of Oliva |
| Bishopric of Minden | 1648 | Peace of Westphalia |
| Principality of Halberstadt | 1648 | Peace of Westphalia |
| Farther Pomerania withCammin | 1653 | Treaty of Grimnitz (entitlement);Peace of Westphalia (entitlement);Treaty of Stettin (incorporation); slightly enlarged by theTreaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1679) |
| Ermland (Ermeland, Warmia) | 1656 | Treaty of Königsberg (Swedish fief), sovereign since 1656 (Treaty of Labiau), lost in 1657 (Treaty of Wehlau-Bromberg) |
| Lauenburg and Bütow Land | 1657 | Treaty of Bromberg |
| Draheim | 1657 | Treaty of Bromberg |
| Duchy of Magdeburg | 1680 | Succession based on an entitlement under thePeace of Westphalia |
In 1613,John Sigismund converted fromLutheranism toCalvinism, but failed to achieve the conversion of the estates by the rule ofcuius regio, eius religio.[60] Thus, on 5 February 1615, he granted the Lutherans religious freedom, while the Elector's court remained largely Calvinist.[60] When Frederick William I rebuilt Brandenburg–Prussia's war-torn economy, he attracted settlers from all Europe, especially by offering religious asylum, most prominently by theEdict of Potsdam which attracted more than 15,000Huguenots.[65]
Brandenburg–Prussia established a navy and colonies during the reign of Frederick William. The "Great Elector" had spent part of his childhood at thePomeranian court and port cities ofWolgast (1631–1633) andStettin (1633–1635), and afterwards studied at theDutch universities ofLeyden andThe Hague (1635–1638).[66] When Frederick William became elector in 1640, he invited Dutch engineers to Brandenburg, sent Brandenburgian engineers to study in the Netherlands, and in 1646 married educatedLuise Henriette of the DutchHouse of Orange-Nassau.[66] After theThirty Years' War, Frederick William tried to acquire finances to rebuild the country by participating in oversea trade, and attempted to found a Brandenburg–Prussian East Indies Company.[67] He engaged former Dutch admiralAernoult Gijsels van Lier as advisor and tried to persuade theHoly Roman Emperor and princes of the empire to participate.[68] The emperor, however, declined the request as he considered it dangerous to disturb the interest of the other European powers.[69] In 1651, Frederick William boughtDanishFort Dansborg andTranquebar for 120,000reichstalers.[67] As Frederick William was unable to raise this sum, he asked several people andHanseatic towns to invest in the project, but since none of these were able or willing to give sufficient money, the treaty with Denmark was nullified in 1653.[67]
| Brandenburg–Prussian navy | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vessel type | Count | |||||
| 1675 | 1680 | 1684 | 1689 | 1696 | 1700 | |
| frigate | 6 | 15 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 4 |
| fluyt | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| snow | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| galiote | 0 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| yacht | 1 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| other | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| Source: van der Heyden (2001), p. 17. Total number of European ships in 1669: 25,000 Total number of Dutch ships in 1669: 16,000 Source: van der Heyden (2001), p. 21. | ||||||
In 1675, after thevictory at Fehrbellin and the Brandenburg–Prussian advance inSwedish Pomerania during theScanian War, Frederick William decided to establish a navy.[69] He engaged Dutch merchant and shipownerBenjamin Raule as his advisor, who after a first personal meeting with Frederick William in 1675 settled in Brandenburg in 1676[69] and became the major figure of Brandenburg–Prussia's emerging naval and colonial enterprise. The Brandenburg–Prussian navy was established from ten ships which Frederick William leased from Raule, and achieved first successes in the war against Sweden supporting thesiege of Stralsund andStettin and the invasion ofRügen.[70] InPillau (now Baltiysk) on theEast Prussian coast, Raule established shipyards and enlarged the port facilities.[69]
After theTreaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1679), the navy was used to hijack Swedish ships in theBaltic Sea, and in 1680, six Brandenburg–Prussian vessels captured theSpanish vesselCarolus Secundus nearOstend to pressure Spain to pay promised subsidies.[70] The Spanish ship was renamedMarkgraf von Brandenburg ("Margrave of Brandenburg") and became the flagship of anAtlantic fleet that was ordered to capture Spanish vessels carrying silver; it was not successful in this mission.[70] In the following years, the navy was expanded, and the policy of leasing ships was replaced by the policy of building or purchasing them.[71] On 1 October 1684 Frederick William bought all ships that had been leased for 110,000talers.[71] Also in 1684, theEast Frisian port ofEmden replacedPillau as the main Brandenburg–Prussian naval base.[72] From Pillau, part of the shipyard, the admiral's house and the wooden church of the employees was transferred to Emden.[72] While Emden was not part of Brandenburg–Prussia, the elector owned a nearby castle,Greetsiel, and negotiated an agreement with the town to maintain a garrison and a port.[72]
In 1679, Raule presented Frederick William a plan to establish colonies inAfricanGuinea, and the elector approved.[70] In July 1680, Frederick William issued respective orders, and two ships were selected to establish trade contacts with African tribes and explore places where colonies could be established.[73] On 17 September,frigateWappen von Brandenburg ("Seal of Brandenburg") andMorian (poetic for "Mohr", "Negro") left for Guinea.[73] The ships reached Guinea in January 1681.[73] Since the crew of theWappen von Brandenburg sold a barrel of brandy to Africans in a territory claimed by theDutch West Indies Company, the latter confiscated the ship in March.[73] The crew of the remaining shipMorian managed to have three Guinean chieftains sign a contract on 16 May, before the Dutch expelled the vessel from the coastal waters.[73] This treaty, officially declared as trade agreement, included a clause of subjection of the chiefs to Frederick William's overlordship[73] and an agreement allowing Brandenburg–Prussia to establish a fort,[74] and is thus regarded the beginning of the Brandenburg–Prussian colonial era.[73]
To facilitate the colonial expeditions, theBrandenburg African Company was founded on 7 March 1682,[75] initially with its headquarters inBerlin and its shipyards inPillau, since 1683 inEmden.[76] Throughout its existence, the company was underfunded, and expeditions were financed also by private capital, including payments by Raule and Frederick William.[75] In July 1682, an expedition under East PrussianOtto Friedrich von der Groeben was sent to Guinea to erect the fortressGroßfriedrichsburg.[77] On 24 February 1684, another treaty with indigenous chiefs was signed that allowed the erection of a second fort in nearbyAccada (nowAkwida),[78] namedDorotheenschanze after Frederick William's second wife.[79] On 4 February 1685, a treaty was signed with the chiefs ofTaccararay (nowTakoradi), some 30 kilometers east of Großfriedrichsburg.[79] A fourth fort was built at a spring near the village ofTaccrama, between Großfriedrichsburg and Dorotheenschanze, namedLoge orSophie-Louise-Schanze.[79] Overall, the colony comprised roughly 50 kilometers of coastline, and did not extend into the hinterland.[80]
A second colony was established at theArguin archipelago off the West African coast (now part ofMauritania). In contrast to the Guinean colony, Arguin had been a colony before: In 1520,Portugal had built a fort on the main island, which with all of Portugal came underSpanish control in 1580.[81] In 1638 it was conquered by theDutch Republic, and in 1678 byFrance, who due to high maintenance costs abandoned it and demolished the fort soon after.[81] On 27 July 1685, an expedition was mounted by Frederick William and Raule, who took possession of the vacated colony on 1 October.[81] Subsequently, the fort was rebuilt and contacts to the indigenous population established.[82] France was alarmed and sent a vessel to re-conquer the fort in late 1687,[82] but the attack of a French frigate and a smaller vessel was beaten back by the Brandenburg–Prussian garrison.[83] The victory improved the relations to the indigenous people, many of whom were carried off as slaves by the French before.[83] While Arguin did not reach the economic importance of Großfriedrichsburg, it temporarily advanced to the world's primary staple port for slaves.[84]
The African colonies enabled Brandenburg–Prussia to participate in theTriangular trade, yet it lacked its own trading post in theCaribbean Sea. In 1684, Brandenburg–Prussia was denied the purchase of the French islandsSainte Croix andSaint Vincent.[85] In November 1685,[86] after a failed attempt to purchaseSaint Thomas fromDenmark–Norway,[85] a Brandenburg–Danish agreement was reached that allowed theBrandenburg African Company to rent part of Saint Thomas as a base for 30 years, while the sovereignty remained with Denmark and administration with theDanish West Indies and Guinean Company.[86] The first Brandenburgian vessel arrived in 1686 with 450 slaves fromGroßfriedrichsburg.[86] Brandenburg–Prussia was allotted an area near the capital cityCharlotte Amalie, calledBrandenburgery, and other territories namedKrum Bay andBordeaux Estates further west.[86] In 1688, 300 Europeans and several hundred slaves lived on the Brandenburgian estates.[87] In November 1695, French forces looted the Brandenburgian (not the Danish) colony.[88] In 1731, the Brandenburg–Prussian company on Saint Thomas (BAAC) became insolvent, and abandoned the island in 1735.[89] Their last remains were sold by auction in 1738.[89]
Brandenburg–Prussia tried to claimCrab Island in 1687, but the island was also claimed by other European powers beforehand, and when a second expedition in 1692 found the island under Danish control, the plan was abandoned.[90] In 1689, Brandenburg–Prussia claimedPeter Island, but the small rock proved unsuitable for trade or settlement.[91] In 1691, Brandenburg–Prussia and theDuchy of Courland agreed on a partition ofTobago, but since Courland later abandoned the territory and thus was no longer present on the island, the agreement was nullified, and negotiations with the English government which had interests in Tobago did not result in an agreement.[91] In 1695, Brandenburg–Prussia attempted to acquireTortola fromEngland via diplomacy, but the negotiations went nowhere, and were eventually called off.[91] Likewise, England declined an offer to purchaseSint Eustatius in 1697.[91]
