Duchy of Prussia | |||||||||
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| 1525–1701 | |||||||||
 Flag (1525–1657) | |||||||||
 The Duchy of Prussia (yellow) | |||||||||
| Status | Fief ofPoland(until 1657) Part ofBrandenburg-Prussia(from 1618) | ||||||||
| Capital | Königsberg 54°50′N21°20′E / 54.833°N 21.333°E /54.833; 21.333 | ||||||||
| Common languages | Low German,German,Polish,Lithuanian,Old Prussian | ||||||||
| Religion | Lutheranism[1] | ||||||||
| Demonym | Prussian | ||||||||
| Government | Feudalmonarchy | ||||||||
| Duke | |||||||||
• 1525–1568 | Albert | ||||||||
• 1568–1618 | Albert Frederick | ||||||||
• 1618–1619 | John Sigismund | ||||||||
• 1619–1640 | George William | ||||||||
• 1640–1688 | Frederick William | ||||||||
• 1688–1701 | Frederick | ||||||||
| Legislature | Estates | ||||||||
| Historical era | Early modern period | ||||||||
| 10 April 1525 | |||||||||
| 1657 | |||||||||
| 1701 | |||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
• Total | 30,000 km2 (12,000 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Currency | Thaler (1525-1701) | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Lithuania Poland Russia | ||||||||
TheDuchy of Prussia (German:Herzogtum Preußen,Polish:Księstwo Pruskie,Lithuanian:Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) orDucal Prussia (German:Herzogliches Preußen; Polish:Prusy Książęce) was aduchy in theregion of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of theState of the Teutonic Order until theProtestant Reformation in 1525.
The duchy became the firstProtestant state whenAlbert, Duke of Prussia formally adoptedLutheranism in 1525. It was inhabited by a German, Polish (mainly inMasuria), and Lithuanian-speaking (mainly inLithuania Minor) population.[2]
In 1525, during theProtestant Reformation, in accordance to theTreaty of Kraków, theGrand Master of theTeutonic Knights, Albert,secularized the order's prevailing Prussian territory (the Monastic Prussia), becomingAlbert, Duke of Prussia. As theState of the Teutonic Order had been a hereditaryfief of thePolish Crown since the end of theThirteen Years' War (1454–1466), King of PolandSigismund I the Old, as its suzerain, granted the territory as a fief to Duke Albert per the Treaty of Kraków, a decision that was sealed by thePrussian Homage inKraków in April 1525.[3] The new duke established Lutheranism as the first Protestantstate church. The capital remained inKönigsberg (present-dayKaliningrad).
The duchy was inherited by theHohenzollernprince-electors ofBrandenburg in 1618. Thispersonal union is referred to asBrandenburg-Prussia.Frederick William, the "Great Elector" of Brandenburg, achieved full sovereignty over the duchy under the 1657Treaty of Wehlau, confirmed in the 1660Treaty of Oliva. In the following years, attempts were made to return to Polish suzerainty, especially by the capital city of Königsberg, whose burghers rejected the treaties and viewed the region as part of Poland.[4][5] The Duchy of Prussia was elevated to akingdom in 1701.
| History ofBrandenburg andPrussia |
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AsProtestantism spread among the laity of theTeutonic Monastic State of Prussia, dissent began to develop against theRoman Catholic rule of theTeutonic Knights, whose Grand Master,Albert, Duke of Prussia, a member of acadet branch of theHouse of Hohenzollern, lacked the military resources to assert the order's authority.
Afterlosing a war against theKingdom of Poland, and with his personal bishop,Georg von Polenzof Pomesania and ofSamland, who had converted to Lutheranism in 1523,[6] and a number of his commanders already supporting Protestant ideas, Albert began to consider a radical solution.
AtWittenberg in 1522, and atNuremberg in 1524,Martin Luther encouraged him to convert the order's territory into a secular principality under his personal rule, as the Teutonic Knights would not be able to survive theReformation.[7]
On 10 April 1525, Albert resigned his position, became a Protestant and in thePrussian Homage was granted the title "Duke of Prussia" by his uncle, KingSigismund I of Poland. In a deal partly brokered by Luther, Ducal Prussia became the first Protestant state, anticipating the dispensations of thePeace of Augsburg of 1555.
When Albert returned to Königsberg, he publicly declared his conversion and announced to a quorum of Teutonic Knights his new ducal status. The knights who disapproved of the decision were pressured into acceptance by Albert's supporters and theburghers of Königsberg, and only Eric ofBrunswick-Wolfenbüttel,Komtur ofMemel, opposed the new duke. On 10 December 1525, at their session in Königsberg, thePrussian estates established theLutheran Church in Ducal Prussia by deciding theChurch Order.[6]
By the end of Albert's rule, the offices of Grand Commander and Marshal of the Order had deliberately been left vacant, and the order was left with but 55 knights in Prussia. Some of the knights converted to Lutheranism in order to retain their property and then married into the Prussian nobility, while others returned to theHoly Roman Empire, and remainedCatholic.[8] These remaining Teutonic Knights, led by the next Grand Master,Walter von Cronberg, continued to unsuccessfully claim Prussia, but retained much of the estates in the Teutonicbailiwicks outside of Prussia.
On 1 March 1526, Albert marriedPrincess Dorothea, daughter of KingFrederick I of Denmark, thereby establishing political ties between Lutheranism andScandinavia. Albert was greatly aided by his elder brotherGeorge, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, who had earlier established the Protestant religion in his territories ofFranconia andUpper Silesia. Albert also found himself reliant on support from his uncleSigismund I of Poland, as theHoly Roman Empire, and the Roman Catholic Church, had banned him for his Protestantism.
The Teutonic Order had only superficially carried out its mission to Christianize the native rural population and erected few churches within the state's territory.[6] There was little longing forRoman Catholicism. BalticOld Prussians andPrussian Lithuanian peasants continued to practice pagan customs in some areas, for example, adhering to beliefs inPerkūnas (Perkunos), symbolized by thegoat buck,Potrimpo, andPikullos (Patollu) while "consuming the roasted flesh of a goat".[9] BishopGeorge of Polentz had forbidden the widespread forms of pagan worship in 1524 and repeated the ban in 1540.[6]
On 18 January 1524 Bishop George had ordered the use of native languages at baptisms, which improved the acceptance of baptism by the peasants.[6] There was little active resistance to the new Protestant religion. The Teutonic Knights having brought Catholicism made the transition to Protestantism easier.[10]
The Church Order of 1525 provided for visitations of the parishioners and pastors, which were first carried out by Bishop George in 1538.[6] Because Ducal Prussia was ostensibly aLutheran land, authorities traveled throughout the duchy ensuring that Lutheran teachings were being followed and imposing penalties on pagans and dissidents. The rural population of native descent was thoroughly Christianised only starting with the Reformation in Prussia.[6]
A peasant rebellion broke out inSambia in 1525. The combination of taxation by the nobility, the contentions of theProtestant Reformation, and the abrupt secularization of the Teutonic Order's remaining Prussian lands exacerbated peasant unrest. The relatively well-to-do rebel leaders, including a miller fromKaimen and an innkeeper fromSchaaken in Prussia, were supported by sympathizers in Königsberg. The rebels demanded the elimination of newer taxes by the nobility, and a return to an older tax of twomarks perhide (a measure of land of approximately forty acres).
They claimed to be rebelling against the harsh nobility, not against Duke Albert, who was away in the Holy Roman Empire and said that they would swear allegiance to him only in person. Upon Albert's return from the Empire, he called for a meeting of the peasants in a field, whereupon he surrounded them with loyal troops and had them arrested without incident. The leaders of the rebellion were subsequently executed.[9] There were no more large-scale rebellions. Ducal Prussia became known as a land of Protestantism and sectarianism.[10]
_by_Martynas_Ma%25C5%25BEvydas%2c_published_in_K%25C3%25B6nigsberg%2c_1547_(cropped).jpg)
In 1544, Duke Albert founded theAlbertina University in Königsberg, which became the principal educational establishment for Lutheran pastors and theologians of Prussia.[6] In 1560, the university received a royalprivilege from KingSigismund II Augustus of Poland. It was granted the same rights and autonomy that were enjoyed by theKraków University and so it became one of the leading universities in thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The use of the native languages in church services made Duke Albert appoint exiled Protestant Lithuanian pastors as professors, e.g.Stanislovas Rapolionis andAbraomas Kulvietis, making the Albertina also a centre of Lithuanian language and literature.[11]
While the composition of the nobility changed little in the transition from the monastic state to the duchy, the control of the nobility over the dependent peasantry increased. Prussia's free peasants, called Kölmer, were holders of free estates according toCulm law. Kölmer held them with about a sixth of the arable land, much more than in other nations in the feudal era.[12]
Administratively, little changed in the transition from the Teutonic Knights to ducal rule. Although he was formally a vassal of the crown of Poland, Albert retained self-government for Prussia, his own army, the minting of his currency, aprovincial assembly, (de,Landtag), and substantial autonomy in foreign affairs.[13]
When Albert died in 1568, his teenage son (the exact age is unknown)Albert Frederick inherited the duchy. Sigismund II was also Albert Frederick's cousin. TheElector of BrandenburgJoachim II, converted to Lutheranism in 1539. Joachim wanted to merge his lands with the Prussian dukedom so that his heirs would inherit both. Joachim petitioned his brother-in-law, kingSigismund II of Poland the co-enfeoffment of his line of the Hohenzollern with the Prussian dukedom, and finally succeeded, including the then usual expenses.
On 19 July 1569, when, inLublin, Poland, duke Albert Frederick rendered King Sigismund IIhomage and was in returninstalled as Duke of Prussia inLublin, the King simultaneously enfeoffed Joachim II and his descendants as co-heirs.
Administration in the duchy declined as Albert Frederick became increasingly feeble-minded, which led MargraveGeorge Frederick ofBrandenburg-Ansbach to becomeRegent of Prussia in 1577.
Following KingSigismund III's Prussian regency agreement (1605) withJoachim Frederick of Brandenburg and hisTreaty of Warsaw, 1611, withJohn Sigismund of Brandenburg, confirming the Brandenburgian co-inheritance of Prussia, both regents guaranteed the free practice of Catholic religion in predominantly-Lutheran Prussia. Based on the agreements, some Lutheran churches were reconsecrated as Catholic places of worship (e.g.St. Nicholas Church,Elbląg in 1612).
In 1618, the Prussian Hohenzollern became extinct in the male line, and so the Polish fief of Prussia was passed on to the senior Brandenburg Hohenzollern line, the rulingmargraves andprince-electors ofBrandenburg, who thereafter ruled Brandenburg (a fief of theHoly Roman Empire), and Ducal Prussia (a Polish fief), inpersonal union. The legal contradiction made a cross-borderreal union impossible;[citation needed] however, in practice, Brandenburg and Ducal Prussia were more and more ruled as one and were colloquially referred to asBrandenburg-Prussia.
In 1618, theThirty Years' War broke out, and John Sigismund himself died the following year. His son,George William, was successfully invested with the duchy in 1623 by King of PolandSigismund III Vasa, thus the personal unionBrandenburg-Prussia was confirmed.[10] Many of thePrussian Junkers were opposed to rule by theHouse of Hohenzollern ofBerlin and appealed to Sigismund III Vasa for redress, or even incorporation of Ducal Prussia into the Polish kingdom, but without success.[14]
During thePolish–Swedish wars, the duchy became administered in 1635 by the Polish statesmanJerzy Ossoliński, who was appointed by Polish KingWładysław IV Vasa.[15]
Frederick William the "Great Elector", duke of Prussia and prince-elector of Brandenburg, wished to acquireRoyal Prussia in order to territorially connect his two fiefs. Yet, during theSecond Northern War,Charles X Gustav of Sweden invaded Ducal Prussia and dictated theTreaty of Königsberg (January 1656), which made the duchy a Swedish fief. In theTreaty of Marienburg (June 1656), Charles X Gustav promised to cede to Frederick William the Polishvoivodships of Chełmno,Malbork,Pomerania, and thePrince-Bishopric of Warmia if Frederick William would support Charles Gustav's effort.[16]: 82 The proposition was somewhat risky since Frederick William would definitely have to provide military support, and the reward could be provided only on victory. When the tide of the war turned against Charles X Gustav, he concluded theTreaty of Labiau (November 1656), making Frederick William I the full sovereign in Ducal Prussia and Warmia, which, however, was part of Poland.
In response to the Swedish-Prussian alliance, KingJohn II Casimir Vasa submitted a counteroffer, which Frederick William accepted. They signed theTreaty of Wehlau on 19 September 1657 and theTreaty of Bromberg on 6 November 1657. In return for Frederick William's renunciation of the Swedish-Prussian alliance, John Casimir recognised Frederick William's full sovereignty over the Duchy of Prussia.[16]: 83 After almost 200 years of Polish suzerainty over the Teutonic monastic state of Prussia and its successor Ducal Prussia, the territory passed under the full sovereignty of Brandenburg. Therefore,Duchy of Prussia then became the more adequate appellation for the state. Full sovereignty was a necessary prerequisite to upgrade Ducal Prussia to the sovereignKingdom of Prussia in 1701 when ElectorFrederick III of Brandenburg can become "king in Prussia" in 1701 without approvement of EmperorLeopold I.
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However, the end of Polish suzerainty was met with resistance of the population, regardless of ethnicity, as it was afraid of Brandenburgabsolutism and wished to remain part of thePolish Crown. The burghers of the capital city of Königsberg, led byHieronymus Roth, rejected the treaties of Wehlau and Oliva and viewed Prussia as "indisputably contained within the territory of the Polish Crown".[4] It was noted that the incorporation into the Polish Crown under theTreaty of Kraków was approved by the city of Königsberg, while the separation from Poland took place without the city's consent.[4] Polish King John II Casimir was asked for help, and masses were held in Protestant churches for the king and the Polish Kingdom. But in 1662, Elector Frederick William entered the city with his troops and forced the city to swear allegiance to him.
However, in the following decades, at least one attempt to return of Polish suzerainty was made. In 1675, the Polish-FrenchTreaty of Jaworów was signed according to whichFrance was to support Polish efforts to regain control of the region, and Poland was to join the ongoing Franco-Brandenburgian War on the French side,[17] however, it was not implemented.
The nature of thede facto collectively ruled governance of Brandenburg-Prussia became more apparent through the titles of the higher ranks of the Prussian government, seated in Brandenburg's capital of Berlin after the return of the court from Königsberg, where they had sought refuge from the Thirty Years' War.
After the Kingdom of Prussia's annexation of the bulk of the province of Royal Prussia in theFirst Partition of Poland in 1772, former Ducal Prussia, including previously Polish-controlledWarmia within Royal Prussia, was reorganized into theProvince of East Prussia, whilePomerelia and theMalbork Land became the Province ofWest Prussia, with the exceptions of the two principal cities ofGdańsk andToruń, annexed into West Prussia only in 1793 after theSecond Partition of Poland.
The Kingdom of Prussia, then consisting of East and West Prussia, being a sovereign state, and Brandenburg, being a fief within the Holy Roman Empire, were amalgamatedde jure only after the latter's dissolution in 1806, though later became again partially distinct during the existence of theGerman Confederation (1815-1866).
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