Father of Frederick II - "Soldier King" Frederick William I

Friedrich Wilhelm I (August 14, 1688 - May 31, 1740), King of Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg (February 25, 1713) May 31, 1740), nicknamed "Soldatenk?nig" (Soldatenk?nig). Father of Frederick II. His father, Frederick I, succeeded in turning Prussia into a kingdom, and he himself greatly strengthened the kingdom's military power.

Frederick William I was the daughter of Sophie Charlotte, the eldest daughter of Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, and Ernst August, Elector of Hanover. Second son.

When he was 13 years old, his father received the title of king and he became Crown Prince of Prussia. He fought in the War of the Spanish Succession.

On February 25, 1713, his father Frederick I died and he ascended the throne and became king. Frederick William I had just ascended the throne and the War of Spanish Succession ended. On April 11, Prussia signed the "Peace of Utrecht" with France, acquiring the Gerden district and the two princely states of Neuchatel and Valentin near the borders of France and Switzerland.

Frederick William I implemented extreme militaristic policies. He greatly increased taxes and increased the Prussian army from 38,000 to 83,000 (accounting for 4% of the population). As a result, Prussia became the third military power in Europe. During the reign of Frederick William I, relations with Austria and Britain were cold, and he only formed an alliance with France.

Prussia under Frederick William I participated in the Great Northern War against Swedish hegemony, but gained little. It was only because Peter the Great's Russian Empire defeated Sweden that Frederick William I obtained Pomerania up to the mouth of the Oder River.

Frederick William I was a stern and militaristic warrior king. He treated his subjects with an extremely rough military style, pushed the severity of military training to the extreme, and created the "obedience, obedience, obedience, Obey again the "Prussian spirit". This prepared a solid military and economic foundation for Prussia's future expansion. During the time of Frederick William I, Prussian military discipline was strict, and reviewing the army became his biggest pastime.

In 1733, a split-slot conscription system was implemented and peasants were forced to serve as soldiers, providing half of the soldiers and the other half as foreign mercenaries. He also has a Giant Grenadier Regiment: He sends people to kidnap tall giants from all over Europe and organize them into a special Grenadier Regiment. From the North Sea to the Mediterranean, all tall giants in Europe may be deceived or robbed by him. . Tall women are not safe either and are often collected to be paired with these giants to produce the next generation of giants.

When Frederick William was on his deathbed in 1740, when he heard the priest preaching "A man comes naked, he goes naked", he could still struggle from his bed and say "How If I can be naked, I will put on my military uniform."

In 1709, the plague broke out in eastern Prussia, and the population plummeted. Frederick William I re-immigrated and made the east prosperous again.

Compulsory primary education nationwide was implemented in 1717. But Frederick William I despised learning, and he banned French literature, Latin, and music in Prussia. Because he lives a simple and stingy life and is reluctant to spend money on economic and cultural construction, he is known as the "Beggar King". However, although his coronation ceremony only cost a mere two thousand silver coins, he used 80% of the government's fiscal revenue as military expenses. With his efforts, the Prussian army instantly swelled to 85,000 men. And well equipped.

In 1719, he liberated all serfs in his territory and abolished the hereditary tenancy system. He advocated mercantilism and developed industry.

Because Frederick William I was too harsh on Crown Prince Fritz, forbidding him from contacting French literature, Latin and music, and objecting to his son’s marriage to the British royal family, he often punished his son corporally, resulting in a father-son relationship. nervous.

In 1730, Fritz attempted to escape to England and was arrested. Fritz's associates were executed and he almost died.

Frederick William I was more than two meters tall and weighed more than 100 kilograms. He usually drank and ate too much and was addicted to smoking. He died in Berlin on May 31, 1740, at the age of 51. His son Fritz became King Frederick II, inherited the powerful and wealthy kingdom left by William I, and built Prussia into one of the most powerful states in Europe.