1. Prompt
Analyze the military, political, and social factors that account for the rise of Prussia between 1640 and 1785

2. Background 1. Dukes of Prussia and Imperial electors of Brandenburg.
A. Hohenzollern Family
1. Dukes of Prussia and Imperial electors of Brandenburg.
2. Held little to none princely power.
3. Real power was with the nobility.
B. Weakening of the Political power of the estates
1. As a result of the Thirty Years War, it weakened the political powers within Brandenburg and Prussia
2. Led to Frederick William taking Prussia towards Absolutism.

4. Frederick William “Great Elector”(r. 1640-1688)
A. Accomplishments
1. Unified the separate provinces of Brandenburg, Prussia, and scattered areas along the Rhine.
2. Created a permanent standing army in 1660.
3. Taxed the estates without consent.
4. Tripled state’s revenue.
5. Increased size of the army.
6. Created the foundations of an absolutist state by giving the monarchy more power over the nobility.

6. Frederick William I “The Soldiers’ King”(r. 1713-1740)
-Became King after the weak reign of Frederick III.
Accomplishments
1. Created Prussian Absolutism.
2. Created best army in Europe.
3. Created strong centralized bureaucracy.
B. Military and State
1. Infused military values with society.
2. Military recruiting agents.
-”Stop growing or the recruiting agents will get you.”
3. Fredericks words of, “A formidable army and a war chest large enough to make this army mobile in times of need can create great respect for you in the world, so that you can speak a word like the other powers.”
4. Led to expansion of Royal absolutism.

7. Continued Opposition of Junkers
1. Junkers- Nobility and the landowning class.
2. Junkers opposed the King’s grab for power.
3. Frederick resolved this by making the nobility commanders of the peasantry in the army as well as in their states.
Bureaucracy
1. Honest and conscientious.
2. Administered the country and developed some of the economy.

9. Social Status Prussia’s social class consisted of Powerful Nobility
Weak Middle Class
Oppressed Serfs

10. Conclusion
Political - Creation of an Absolutist state. Reduced power of the nobility.
Military- Creation of a strong army of professionals.
Social- Having a strong nobility, weak middle-class, and oppressed serfs.
All accounted for the rise of Prussia between