1. Jamie Driskill Period 4 Sept. 30, 2011
Analyze the military, political, and social factors that account for the rise of Prussia between 1640 and 1786
Jamie Driskill
Period 4
Sept. 30, 2011

2. Military
Strong kings began to emerge in many lands in the course of the 17th century. War and the threat of war aided rulers greatly in their attempts to build absolute monarchies.
There was an endless struggle for power, as eastern rulers not only fought one another but also battled with armies of invaders from Asia.
Growth of Prussian Military.
The royal absolutism created in Prussia was stronger and more effective that that established in Austria, giving them a slight advantage in the struggle for power in east central Europe in the 18th century.

3. Political 1620-1740 Growth of absolutism in Prussia.
Reign of Frederick William in Prussia.
1660 Frederick William forced the states to introduce permanent taxation without consent in order to pay for the permanent standing army.
In 1701 the English, Dutch, Austrians, and Prussians form the grand alliance against Louis XIV. Claiming they were fighting to prevent France from becoming too strong in Europe.(During the previous half century there was a rivalry among France, Holland, and England that created serious international tension.)
Monarchs reduced the political power of the landlord nobility (Junkers). They left the nobles the unchallenged masters of their peasants, the would-be absolutist monarchs of eastern Europe gradually gained and monopolized political power in three key areas.
1. imposing and collecting permanent taxes without consent.
2. maintained permanent standing armies.
3. conducting relations with other state as they pleased.
Frederick III’s main political accomplishment was winning a prestigious royal title and being crowned king Frederick I in 1701 as a reward for aiding the Holy Roman Emperor in the War of Spanish Succession.

4. Social
When he came to power in 1640, the great elector was determined to unify his 3 quite separate provinces and add to them by diplomacy and war.
The struggle between the great elector and the provincial estates was long, complicated and intense. After the 30 years war representatives of the nobility zealously reasserted the right of the estates to vote taxes, a right the Swedish armies of occupation had simply ignored.
In Prussia in 1653, peasants were accused to be tied to their lords in hereditary subjugation (bound to their lords from one generation to the next as well as to the land.)
Between 1661 and 1663, the great elector eventually had his way.
1688 the great elector died. New one: elector Frederick III “the ostentatious ” who focused on imitating the style of Louis XIV (building expensive palace and cultivating the arts.)the tendency of luxury-loving, petty tyranny was reversed by Frederick William I “the soldiers king” (r ). He was the most talented reformer ever produced by the Hohenzollern family.