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.