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German History
18th Century
Despite the fact that not much time had passed
after the Thirty Years' War, conflict reemerged. In Germany
the lesser princes welcomed the protection provided by the
empire while the greater princes yearned freedom to grow and
develop on their own. And so, dynastic struggles between princes
and the emperor ensued once more.
The Hohenzollerns of Brandenburg had inherited
Prussia as a Polish Duchy un 1618 and through expansion campaigns
developed the Kingdom of Prussia, of which they were kings.
Frederick William I was a great soldier and during his reign
worked toward his vision of a modern military state. His son
and successor, Frederick William II the Great, focused both
on reorganizing and refining the government and army and on
enjoying cultural activities such as literature and music.
Conflict arose when Bavaria, Saxony and France
struck war with Austria and Bohemia, with the Netherlands,
Russia and Great Britain rushing to the latter's aid. What
followed was the War of Austrian Succession, lasting from
1740 to 1748. Prussia emerged as a greater power and as the
years went by new allegiances and hostilities developed and
waned, sometimes coming to physical clashes such as the Seven
Years War from 1756 to 1763.
Poland 's weakness led to an agreement in 1772
between Austria, Prussia and Russia to intervention and subsequent
partition, carried out in three stages, the final partition
in 1795, which ended in Poland 's complete disappearance.
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