Prussia

Eric Ditchek- Prussia toc

**__ Early years of Prussia (happy to see this) __**
-Following 60 years of struggles with the Old Prussians, the Teutonic Knights controlled Prussia and Livonia in 1252. -In 1356, the Hanseatic League was established. -Hanseatic League- a group of trading cities that monopolized on all trade in Europe. -This forced Europe to begin trade over the Baltic Sea - The Knights worked for the Pope and the emperor, however the Prussians defeated them with help from Poland Lithuania in 1410. - Following this war, West Prussia was seceded to Poland.

- Following the Protestant Reformation, a majority of Prussians converted to Protestantism. - The last of the Knights, Albert of Hohenzollern, took control of East Prussia as the first duke of Prussia in 1525. - He was a Lutheran and his influence lead to a large protestant population in Prussia. - In 1660 Fredrick William, elector of Brandenburg, secured Prussia’s independence from Poland. - Fredrick centralized the government and assumed the powers formerly used by the nobility.

**__ Kingdom of Prussia __**
-In 1701, Fredrick’s son, Fredrick I, became King of Prussia. - He received royal recognition and in exchange he promised military aid to the Holy Roman Empire. - He increased their military strength and rebuilt the government as a military establishment. - His son, Fredrick II the Great, was left with wealth and the best army in Europe of the time. - Fredrick the Great was a military genius and lead Prussia as a European Power. - In 1740 he invaded Silesia and participated in the War of Austrian Succession. - He secured all of Prussia and annexed Silesia by the end of the seven years war in 1763. - He was referred to as an enlightened ruler due to his abolishment of torture, introduced a civil code and understood that the crown would not hold power over justice.

**__ Prussia as a German Power __**
- After temporarily being occupied by Napoleon, they were freed following his defeat in Russia and participated in the Battle of Waterloo. - The Congress of Vienna granted Prussia all of their lost territories and the Rhineland and Westphalia. - Following the Napoleonic Wars, Prussia emerged as the dominant power in Germany. - It’ was during this time that Germany was split between two schools of thought, liberals, who wanted to unify Germany, and conservatives, who wanted to have Germany remain as independent monarchy states. - Due to Prussia’s size and strength, many smaller states began to join its sphere of influence. - By 1844 a majority of the economically linked to Prussia.

**__ Unification of Germany __**
-King William I and Prime Minister Otto van Bismarck lead Prussia to the height of its power. -By 1848 it was predetermined that it would be Prussia that would lead Germany to it’s Unification. - This was due to Prussia’s economic advancement and industrialization. - Upon his appointment as Prime Minister, Bismarck delivered his famous “Blood and Iron” speech saying how Prussia was looked to as the military leader of Germany. - Bismarck’s plan to unify Germany was to modernize the army. He allied himself with Austria against Denmark to fight over disputed territories. - Following this Danish War, He attacked Austria with Italy’s help stating it was caused by dispute over territories won in the Danish War. - This war was known as the Seven Weeks War due to the Prussian army’s modernization being incredibly successful. - After this victory, he treated Austria well in order to set his next stage into motion, a France war. - This lead to the creation of the North German Confederation, which was made up of the northern Germany states. The south then allied with the north and declared war on France. - In 1870 he began the Franco-Prussian War by rewriting a telegram from the Prussian King to the Bismarck himself to make it appear as though the king insulted France. - Following a swift victory over France, Bismarck convinced the remainder of the Germanic states to join and create a Germany under Prussian leadership. William was crowned emperor in 1871 - This alliance completely shifted the balance of power in Europe. It also created bitter enemies between France and Germany, as France was upset over lost territory.


 * ==** Timeline **== ||
 * Germanic conquest of the Wends || 6-12th c. ||
 * Battle of Tannenburg || 1410 ||
 * Brandenburg given to Count Friedrich || 1415 ||
 * Prussia made a Polish duchy || 1525 ||
 * Prussia inherited by Johann Sigismund || 1618 ||
 * Thirty Years' War || 1618-48 ||
 * Prussia ceded to Brandenburg || 1660 ||
 * Kingdom of Prussia named under Hohenzollerns || 1701 ||
 * Pomerania won from Sweden || 1715 ||
 * War of Polish Succession || 1734-35 ||
 * War of Austrian Succession || 1740-48 ||
 * Seven Years' War (Saxony) || 1756-63 ||
 * Partition of Poland || 1772 ||
 * Battle of Jena-Auerstadt || 1806 ||
 * Battle of Friedland || 1807 ||
 * Treaties of Tilsit ||  ||
 * Scharnhorst begins reorganization of military ||  ||
 * Re-establishment of War Ministry || 1808 ||
 * Treaty of Paris ||  ||
 * Battle of Wagram || 1809 ||
 * Battle of Borodino || 1812 ||
 * Napoleon retreats from Moscow ||  ||
 * Convention of Tauroggen ||  ||
 * Scharnhorst named Quartermaster General || 1813 ||
 * Battle of Luetzen (Gross Goerschen) ||  ||
 * Battle of Leipzig ||  ||
 * 1st abdication of Napoleon || 1814 ||
 * Congress of Vienna ||  ||
 * Battle of Waterloo (Belgium) || 1815 ||
 * 2nd abdication of Napoleon ||  ||
 * Peace of Paris ||  ||
 * Zollverein (Customs Union) || 1834 ||
 * 2-year compulsory military service established || 1836 ||
 * First Prussian-Danish War || 1848 ||
 * Austro-French War || 1859 ||
 * Bismarck named Prime Minister || 1862 ||
 * Second Prussian-Danish War || 1864 ||
 * Seven Weeks War (Prussia/Italy vs Austria) || 1866 ||
 * Battle of Koeniggraetz/Sadowa (Hradec Kralove) ||  ||
 * Franco-Prussian "Luxemburg Crisis" || 1867 ||
 * Franco-Prussian War || 1870 ||
 * Battles of Mar la Tour & Gravelotte ||  ||
 * Battle of Sedan ||  ||
 * Surrender of Paris || 1871 ||
 * German Empire declared under Wilhelm I ||  ||
 * Bismarck resigns || 1890 ||
 * Bismarck resigns || 1890 ||

**__ Annotated Bibliography __**
[|http://home.comcast.net/~jcviser/prussia/timeline.htm] -A simple yet convenient timeline of Prussia’s history

- [] - It’s full of information. However, it is not so straightforward and a bit confusing.

[] - a very good source of information involving Prussia. Simple to read and easy to understand

Hunt, Lynn. //The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures//. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005. Print. A very detailed explanation. However, it was difficult to find what I was looking for and was not so straightforward with the material.

// Cracking the Ap European History Exam, 2013. // Princeton Review, 2012. Print. Good, summarized information. Very straight forwards and easy to find.

http://www.kolpack.com/packnet/prussia.html - a simple, brief overall view of Prussia's history

http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0860564.html - decent information. very clear however very wordy and not interesting

http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=aa54 - not very detailed. clear and