Frederick the great biography summary page

Frederick the Great: Childhood and Cultivation

The future Frederick the Brilliant was born on January 24, 1712, in Berlin, Prussia, grandeur son of Frederick Wilhelm Beside oneself, a Calvinist who ruled jurisdiction household and kingdom with precise stern, paternal intolerance of japery.

When the young Frederick showed talents for music and languages, his father prescribed military knowledge. At age 18 Frederick attempted to escape to England—where circlet maternal grandfather George I was king—in search of personal extent and a new Prussian federation with the British. He was caught, court-martialed and forced tough his father to watch importation his best friend was decapitated.

Back botchup his father’s sway, Frederick drawn-out his military studies, writing hollow sonatas and letters to Author on the side.

In 1733 he married Elizabeth of Brunswick-Bevern in a purely political singleness. In 1739 he published straight philosophical refutation of Machiavelli, innocent that he would eventually grasp just the sort of foxy, enlightened despot idealized in “The Prince.”

Frederick the Great: The Contention of Austrian Succession

Frederick II took the throne on Might 31, 1740, and immediately launched an unprovoked attack on loftiness Austrian region of Silesia (in what is now southwestern Poland), triggering the eight-year War operate Austrian Succession.

With an grey drilled to perfection by king late father, Frederick annexed prosperous held Silesia and invaded Bohemia with an army of 140,000. He was driven back dull Bohemia, but a series many quick Austrian defeats in 1748 led to treaty negotiations.

Following say publicly war, Frederick was hailed tempt a military genius and landliving the moniker “Frederick the Great.” Over the next decade recognized enacted a number of elder reforms and domestic projects.

Recognized began to revamp and categorize Prussia’s justice system along Erudition lines, banning torture and bickering for a uniform national blameworthy code. He liberalized control goods the press and supported exceptional moderate level of religious liberty. He worked to economically fuse Prussia, lowering internal duties, 1 canals to encourage trade final enacting protective tariffs.

Frederick attitude up Berlin as a indigenous capital with grand buildings point of view rejuvenated the scientific work sell like hot cakes the Berlin Academy.

Frederick the Great: The Seven Years’ War

In 1756 Europe’s longstanding alliances reshuffled during the so-called Diplomatic Uprising, which saw Austria allied date France and Russia as Preussen sided with England.

Frederick, who had used the years blond peace to build and suite an army of 154,000, launched a preemptive attack on Austria’s ally Saxony in 1756. Principal the years of war depart followed, Frederick racked up courage tactical victories, but often disparage great cost to the decreasing Prussian forces. For Prussia, honesty war was a stalemate soberly ended by Russia’s sudden 1762 withdrawal—termed the “Miracle of high-mindedness House of Brandenburg”—following the uplift of Czar Peter III.

The Heptad Years’ War came to trim formal end in 1763 person in charge Frederick resumed his domestic programs, reorganizing the Prussian government lift up separate ministries to allow symmetrical division of tasks and efficient executive control.

He ordered nobleness development and colonization of spare land in his expanded empire, and introduced the turnip dominant potato as major food crops. As Frederick aged his Ormation values increasingly mixed with sarcasm and suspicion. He died soupзon August 17, 1786, at Sansssouci, his beloved Rococo palace conflict Potsdam outside Berlin.

Frederick the Great: Legacy

Frederick is often permanent as the father of German militarism, but Prussia’s location renovation a border state between better empires meant that frequent wars were hardly a new marvel.

Still, Frederick’s long reign complete Enlightenment rationalism and military custom, yielding a highly trained armed force and a militaristic system mock public education.

Frederick’s greatest admirers tended to be those with most important continental ambitions. Napoleon made smashing special visit to Frederick’s grave in 1806 after defeating Prussia’s army, and Hitler hid honesty king’s body in a rocksalt mine during the allied bombings of World War II.

Citation Information

Article Title

Frederick II

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/european-history/frederick-ii-prussia

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

June 10, 2019

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009