Chapter Four
The
Rise of the Prussian
State
One of
the most remarkable stories of political development in the 17th and
18th centuries was the rise of a new power - the Kingdom of
Brandenburg-Prussia. Brandenburg, with its capital in Berlin, was one state in
the confusing mix of petty German states which made up Central
Europe. Ruled by the Hohenzollern family line, Brandenburg was a prominent
German state in part due to its status as an "elector" state.
Remember,
the Holy Roman Emperor was selected by the "Elector" or leader of
seven key, identified elector states (seven privileged with this task, out of
the hundreds of German states in the Holy Roman Empire
confederation). Thus, the ruler of Brandenburg
was not called prince or king - his title was ‘Elector’. In
1618, Brandenburg absorbed the strategic
Eastern (Baltic) territory of Prussia
(capital was Koningsberg); this gave the state critical access to the Baltic
coastline, bringing it into direct competition with Russia
and Sweden.
(see
map)
Brandenburg-Prussia
(later called just Prussia),
faced all the limits of the other small German states. It was limited in terms
of territory, and thus resources. Agriculture in the region was not impressive,
much of this territory had only marginal soil. It was also a small state in
terms of population, thus only providing a limited pool for military service
and a minimal tax base. Prussia’s
limited engagement in the Commercial Revolution was clearly evident; the middle
class was small, weak, and subservient. The dominant group in Prussia was one of the most oppressive,
arch-conservative aristocracies in all of Europe,
the Junker class (pronounced “yunker”). In addition,
there were the obvious logistical problems of a state divided into two
non-contiguous regions. This situation limited power and unity until resolved by
absorbing the territories between.
THE GREAT ELECTOR
Offsetting these
limitations, what Prussia
did have was a series of very committed, effective and insightful leaders. As
we saw in Sweden (and with
the negative example of Poland),
leadership made an enormous difference. The first influential leader who recognized
opportunities if Prussia
mobilized and maximized its resources was the Hohenzollern leader Duke
Frederick William I, the Great Elector of Brandenburg-Prussia (ruled 1640-1688).
During the course of the
Thirty Years War, and based on the settlement of the Peace of Westphalia,
Frederick William I came to two key conclusions. 1) The Austrian
Habsburgs would never be able to play a dominant role in German state
affairs. 2) In the world of small, petty, squabbling German armies, if
one state could create and marshal an advanced, disciplined force, that state
could become a dominant force. Frederick William I devoted his rule to
turning Prussia
into a tightly unified state with all resources devoted to the strength
and influence of the state. The goal was the creation of an impressive
"hard state" to enable competition with neighbors. Frederick William
I set in motion state policies continued by his successors which led to the
creation of absolutist control over Prussia, and the focusing of all the
country’s resources towards the goal of creating a military force that
was not always the most numerous on the field, but was in virtually every case the
best.
Between the time he took
power in 1640 and his death in 1688, Frederick William I expanded the Prussia army
from 6,000 to 30,000 men. He also made the shift from a reliance on mercenary
troops to the creation a truly professional, standing army, renowned for its
discipline, training and instilled culture of sacrifice and obedience. This
army was made up of drafted soldiers (primarily peasants); unlike the situation
in most militaries of the time, a great deal of attention give to their
training. The army was led by an aristocratic officer class made up exclusively
of aristocratic Junker families.
A key precedent was set
here. Frederick William I succeeded in establishing the cultural emphasis in the
Prussian elite, the conviction that it was their duty and *privilege* to enter
into military service. The idea took firm hold in Prussian culture, the concept
that officer service in the army was a privileged role, the fulfillment
of highest status for the Junker class. Well into the 20th century, in WWI
and WWII, the German officer corps was still dominated by those of aristocratic,
Junker bloodlines, identified by the "von" in front of their name.
The Great Elector also established
the organization to sustain this military build up, creating an efficient
bureaucratic state with the principle focus being the collection of taxes to
pay for this army. As in all absolutist states, the crushing burden was placed
squarely on the shoulders of the peasants and small middle class. He created an
absolutist state in every sense of the word. He eliminated any potential
check by the Junker class, buying them off with privileges (tax, legal,
job). He also relied on prescriptive mercantile policies to direct the
economy. Economic dominance remained in the hands of the land-owning Junker
class, supported by the powers of the state. In fact, by state law, only the
Junker class could own land! Junker dominance included enforcing unchecked control
over the oppressed and impoverished peasants. As in Austria, Prussian
monarchs bought off the powerful aristocracy, given almost free reign to
control and dominate the peasants and serfs. This clearly eliminated any
possibility or hope for economic mobility on the part of the poor agricultural
classes. The lives of Prussian peasants were abysmal.
Frederick William I began
the slow build up of a merchant marine force in the Baltic. There was limited investment
of small-scale industry, funded by and directed by the state; the focus
was predictably on production of weaponry and means for transporting troops. In
short, all mechanisms and powers of the state were directed towards development
and support of military power. One interesting distinction in this Prussian
version of absolutism was the lack of emphasis on religion. Although Prussia was a
Protestant state, there was little emphasis by Hohenzollern leaders on imposing
one kind of religion at home or as a basis of foreign policy. Thus, Hohenzollerns
were, in general, politiques.
The Great Elector set in
motion the creation of Prussian war machine, establishing the precedent for Prussia to act
as an influential participant in European wars, alliances and diplomacy. The
fruition of these plans was rapidly demonstrated as Prussia
played an increasingly pronounced role in the final years of the Thirty Years
War, gaining the strategic Baltic coastline of Pomerania
as its reward.
Prussia continued to jump
into ongoing inter-German state wars, lending its respected and desired
military power to carefully chosen allies, and then acquiring additional
territory in post-war settlements. Ultimately, once Prussia
felt strong enough to challenge Austrian control and presence, it began to
encroach on the German territorial presence of Austria,
for example taking the rich province
of Silesia. (see
map) As clear reflection of the militaristic direction of foreign policy,
recognize that Prussia
was involved in a war over 1 / 2 the time Elector Frederick William I ruled.
In terms of foreign
policy, an important pattern established by the middle of the 17th century was Prussia's confrontation with Slavic based powers,
Poland and Russia. In
fact, part of the "pitch" Prussia often made to other German states
regarding the importance of Prussia’s leadership, was the need to accept this
domineering role since German states had to protect themselves *under the
leadership of the Prussian state* from the threat of Slavic expansion. The territory of Prussia
is an Eastern territory, in direct proximity to the growing power of Russia. Hostility
towards Russia was a long-standing traditional attitude, deeply imbedded in
Prussian diplomacy, military policy and the culture; an underlying Prussian
belief was the fear that the greatest threat to German culture as exemplified
by Prussia was the great Slavic land power to the East. Initially this
was Poland,
till it was defeated and carved up. Then began a centuries-long stand off with Russia.
The resulting Prussian culture
set in motion by the Great Elector and continued by his able successors was a
state based on absolutist rule and a culture of militarism. All aspects of the
state were directed towards Prussia's
military power, military build up, military values. There was little or no
emphasis on commercial ventures and very little emphasis on the aesthetic
aspects of culture in areas such as art, literature, music. In fact, works of art,
literature, music – all reflected Prussian militarism; the dominant
themes were warfare, military valor, the past glories of Rome, the Teutonic Knights or Charlemagne. Values
such as self-sacrifice, duty to the state, and obedience of one’s superior
officer or class became the cultural values extolled in popular and high
culture, taking deep root and influencing German culture for the next several
centuries.
CHANGE IN TITLE
The Hohenzollern leaders
that followed Frederick William I sustained and built on this direction. Let’s
trace through the chronology of Hohenzollern rulers, because it becomes a bit
confusing with this dynasty.
Elector Frederick
William I: 1640-1688
Elector Frederick
III: 1688-1713 (Elector – 1688-1701; King 1701-1713)
During his reign, as a
reflection of the growing power of Prussia, Elector Frederick III sought and
received from Austrian leaders (as head of the Holy Roman Empire) the right to
take on a more powerful title, that of King in Prussia . The
title, note, was not King *of* Prussia;
Austria
was still intent on limiting the authority of the Hohenzollerns. Frederick III
began to use that title, and then changed his dynastic name in 1701. From this
point on, then, the names and numbers of Hohenzollerns started over again
since they were now kings, not just Electors.
So Elector Frederick III
BECAME King Frederick I, King in Prussia! He was then
succeeded by...
King Frederick William I:
1713 -1740
King Frederick II (the
Great): 1740-1786
FREDERICK
THE GREAT
Frederick the Great is widely viewed as the
most successful of the Hohenzollern kings. He continued and cemented the
martial emphasis of the Prussian state. He directly and successful confronted Austria, seizing
key territories from this rival state. Under his leadership, Prussia became not just a major Central European
power, but one of the greatest military powers in all of Europe.
Prussia
remained actively involved in and usually victorious in the wars that raged throughout
the 18th century (addressed in full in Unit 11).
Prussia's power was all the more remarkable because Prussia’s population was still relatively small (5 million
total), however by focusing all energies, all resources towards military power,
the Prussian army remained feared and respected by countries much larger. Frederick the Great was
also a master of diplomacy. He exemplified many Machiavellian talents, readily
entering and then breaking treaties and alliances, capitalizing on the weakness
of his foes. He can be seen as the political forefather of Otto von
Bismarck who mastered the 19th century policy of Realpolitik.
Frederick the Great is a complex figure in
history. He was not just a single-minded, narrowly focused military despot; he did
institute some policies in his state that were, at least on the surface,
progressive. He spent state monies to increase educational access and build
educational institutions. He decreased the use of violence and torture in
the legal system, he institutionalized relatively tolerant religious policies.
On closer inspection, however, many historians interpret these progressive
actions as still a reflection of his primary emphasis. There was
increased education, but the curriculum was the study of war. There were
policies to reduce strife (i.e. regarding religion) but this was so that
energies were not spent on suppressing internal rebellion and could instead be
directed towards external warfare. (see
his essay on government)
The resulting militarism
of Prussian society is clear by the end of his reign. Frederick took an army of
80,000 in 1740 and created what was for that time a massive army of 200,000
troops; and these were crack troops, highly trained and disciplined. Over 70%
of all state revenues were directed towards military spending and purposes. The
culture reflected the emphasis on marital values and heroes, extolling and
teaching the youth ideals of discipline, unquestioning obedience of superiors
and a strict hierarchy and chain of command in the army and in the society. Institutes
of higher learning in Prussia
were not focused on investigating areas of philosophy, history or ethics but
rather the sciences of weapons and military science. By 1786, Prussia, by squeezing dry its people and
conquered subjects, had the 4th largest army, and certainly the best
trained forces, in all of Europe. Prussia also
could boast of a rich treasury, and firmly established diplomatic and alliance-building
expertise.
There was a price paid
to achieve these advantages; this absolutist, militaristic state prevented
meaningful development of a Commercial Revolution, suppressed the ambitions and
contributions of a middle class, and the state rested heavily upon the
exploitation of a deeply oppressed peasantry. The arrogant and
domineering Junker class was allowed to dominate social and economic live, and
the culture contracted to a narrow emphasis on militaristic values, with little
to balance this emphasis.
Down the road (in the 19th
century), this rise of Prussia
had another significant effect. When German nationalism was on the rise in the
19th century and fervent nationalists throughout the German states
were calling for a unified Germany,
they did not look to Austria
for leadership since it was no longer seen as a German empire. Rather, it
was Prussia, led by the famous
Junker Otto von Bismarck, which took on the role of unifying - finally - German
Central Europe, in 1871. Prussia, in the 19th
century, achieved what Austrian leaders had dreamed of doing for centuries, establishing
rule over a powerful, unified German state. The creation of the modern
state of Germany
in the later modern era was built directly on the foundations of the Prussian
state created by major initiatives of the Great Elector and Frederick the
Great. Prussia made its
presence felt in the 17th century, and will remain a major player
for the rest of our discussions of Europe.
Next week we move
further East, tracing remarkable, distinctive and influential developments in
the Balkans and in the massive, intriguing and complicated Russian empire.
BACK TO CHAPTER
THREE
BACK TO UNIT NINE
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