General Notes

Frederick William I (1688-1740), king of Prussia (1713-40), who during his
reign made his kingdom into a major European state.
Frederick William was born on August 15, 1688, in Berlin, the son of King
Frederick I. He succeeded his father in 1713 and for the next seven years was
involved in a dispute with Sweden over Pomerania, a part of which he finally
received by the Treaty of Stockholm in 1720. In return for recognizing (1726)
the Pragmatic Sanction, by which Maria Theresa, archduchess of Austria, was
given the Austrian Habsburg dominions, he hoped to gain support for his claim
to the Lower Rhine duchies of Jülich and Berg, but his expectations were
dashed.
Frederick William's greatest accomplishment was in the internal development of
Prussia. Contemptuous of the luxury of his father's reign, he instituted a
system of rigid and efficient economy at court and transferred public
financial administration from local governments to the central royal
authority. He was thus able to repay the debts incurred by his father and
greatly improve the financial condition of Prussia. He built up industry by
forbidding the importation of finished goods and the exportation of raw
materials, and directed the colonization of nonpopulous areas, especially in
East Prussia. He also instituted compulsory elementary education in Prussia.
The development of the army was his fondest achievement; he was particularly
proud of the Potsdam Guard, composed of exceptionally tall men hired, and
sometimes kidnapped, from all parts of Europe. Under his supervision the
number of soldiers in the army was increased from about 38,000 to some 83,500
and Prussia became the third ranking military power in Europe. Frederick
William died at Potsdam on May 31, 1740, and was succeeded by his son,
Frederick II, the Great.