Part 21

The new elector, born on the 8th of November 1572, had married in 1594 Anna, daughter of Albert Frederick of Prussia, a union which not only strengthened the pretensions of the electors of Brandenburg to the succession in that duchy, but gave to John Sigismund a claim on the duchies of Cleves, Julich and Berg, and other Rhenish lands should the ruling family become extinct. In March 1609 the death of Duke John William left these duchies without a ruler, and by arrangement they were occupied jointly by the elector and by his principal rival, Wolfgang, son of Philip Louis, count palatine of Neuburg. This proceeding aroused some opposition, and, complicated by religious considerations and by the excited state of European politics, almost precipitated a general war. However, in November 1614 the dispute was temporarily settled by the treaty of Xanten. Brandenburg obtained the duchy of Cleves with the counties of Mark and Ravensberg, but as the Dutch and Spanish garrisons were not withdrawn, these lands were only nominally under the elector's rule. In 1609, John Sigismund had joined the Evangelical Union, probably to win support in the Rhineland, and the same consideration was doubtless one reason why, in 1613, he forsook the Lutheran doctrines of his family, and became an adherent of the reformed, or Calvinist, faith. This step aroused grave discontent in the electorate, and, quickly abandoning his attempts to proselytize, the elector practically conceded religious liberty to his subjects. Over the Cleves-Julich succession, John Sigismund had incurred heavy expenses, and the public debt had again mounted up. He was thus obliged to seek aid from the estates, and in return for grants to make concessions to the nobles. The elector spent much of his time in Prussia striving to assert his authority in that duchy, and in August 1618, according to the arrangement of 1569, became duke by the death of Albert Frederick. He only enjoyed this dignity for a short time, as he died on the 23rd of December 1619. He was succeeded by his eldest son, George William.

George William.

The new elector, born on the 3rd of November 1597, proved a weak and incapable ruler. He had married Elizabeth, daughter of Frederick IV., elector palatine of the Rhine, and sister of the elector Frederick V., afterwards king of Bohemia, and before his accession had acted as his father's representative in Cleves. Although a Protestant he was under the influence of Adam, count of Schwarzenberg, who was a Roman Catholic of imperialist sympathies. As a result the elector remained neutral during the early years of the Thirty Years' War in spite of his relationship with Frederick of the Palatinate, and the obvious danger to his Rhenish lands. This attitude was not successful. Brandenburg was ravaged impartially by both parties, and in 1627 George William attacked his brother-in-law, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, who was using Prussia as a base of operations for his war against Poland. This campaign was short and inglorious for Brandenburg, and the elector was soon compelled to make peace. Although alarmed by the edict of restitution of 1629, George William took no steps to help the Protestants. In 1631, however, Gustavus Adolphus marched on Berlin, compelled the elector to cede the fortress of Spandau, and to aid him with men and money. The Brandenburg troops then assisted the Swedes until after the death of Gustavus in 1632, and the Swedish defeat at Nordlingen in 1634, when the elector assented to the treaty of Prague, which was made in May 1635 between the emperor Ferdinand II. and John George I., elector of Saxony. The imperialists did nothing, however, to drive the Swedes from Brandenburg, and the unfortunate land was entirely at the mercy of the enemy. This was the principal reason why the elector was unable to annex Pomerania when its last duke, Bogislaus XIV., died in 1637. In 1638 George William transferred his residence to Konigsberg, leaving Schwarzenberg to administer the electorate. Although his harsh measures aroused some irritation, the count did something to rid the land of the Swedes and to mitigate its many evils; but its condition was still very deplorable when George William died at Konigsberg on the 1st of December 1640, leaving an only son, Frederick William. The most important facts in the internal history of Brandenburg during the 16th century were the increase in the power of the estates, owing chiefly to the continuous pecuniary needs of the electors; the gradual decline in the political importance of the towns, due mainly to intestine feuds; and the lapse of the peasantry into servitude. These events gave a preponderance of power to the nobles, but concurrently a number of circumstances were silently preparing the way for a great increase of authority on the part of the ruler. The substitution of the elector for the pope as head of the church; the introduction of Roman law with its emphasis on a central authority and a central administration; the determined and successful efforts to avoid any partition of the electorate; and the increasing tendency of the separate sections of the diet to act independently; all tended in this direction. This new order was heralded in 1604 by the establishment of a council of state, devoted to the interests of the elector, which strengthened his authority, and paved the way for a bureaucratic government.

Frederick William, the "Great Elector."

When Frederick William, the "Great Elector," became ruler of Brandenburg in 1640 he found the country in a very deplorable condition. Trade and agriculture were almost destroyed, and the inhabitants, compelled to support the Swedish army of occupation, suffered also from the disorderly conduct of the native soldiers. Although the young elector spent the two first years of his reign mainly in Prussia, he was by no means forgetful of Brandenburg, and began resolutely to root out the many evils which had sprung up during the feeble rule of his father. The powers of Schwarzenberg were curtailed; the state council was restored; and the licence of the soldiers was restrained, while their numbers were reduced. Then turning his attention to the Swedes a truce was arranged, and soon afterwards, in return for an indemnity, they agreed to evacuate the electorate. Having returned to Brandenburg in 1643, Frederick William remained neutral during the concluding years of the Thirty Years' War, and set to work to organize an army and to effect financial reforms. About the same time diplomatic methods freed Cleves, Mark and Ravensberg from foreign troops, but the estates of these lands gained a temporary victory when the elector attacked their privileges. However, in 1647 his title was formally admitted by Wolfgang, count palatine of Neuburg.

The terms of the treaty of Westphalia in 1648 are the best commentary on the general success of the elector's policy. Although he was obliged to give up his claim to the western part of Pomerania in favour of Sweden, he secured the eastern part of that duchy, together with the secularized bishoprics of Halberstadt, Minden and Kammin, and other lands, the whole forming a welcome addition to the area of Brandenburg. He was also promised the archbishopric of Magdeburg when its administrator, Augustus, duke of Saxe-Weissenfels, should die. This event happened in 1680 when he secured the lands of the archbishopric. The elector did not, however, take possession of the newly-acquired territories at once. Fresh difficulties arose with Sweden, and it was not until 1653 that eastern Pomerania was freed from her soldiers. Meanwhile a new quarrel had broken out with Wolfgang of Neuburg. In 1650 Frederick William attacked his rival, but a variety of circumstances, among others a change of government in the Netherlands, and the resistance of the estates of Cleves, thwarted his plans, and he was compelled to listen to the mediating powers, and to acquiesce in the _status quo_.

Profiting by these reverses the elector then undertook a series of internal reforms, tending to strengthen the central authority, and to mitigate the constant lack of money, which was perhaps his chief obstacle to success; a work in which he was aided by George, count of Waldeck (1620-1692), who became his chief adviser about this time. In 1651 the powers of the state council were extended to include all the lands under the elector's rule; and a special committee was appointed to effect financial economies, and so to augment the electoral resources. In imperial politics Frederick William supported the election of Ferdinand, son of the emperor Ferdinand III., as king of the Romans in 1653; but when the emperor failed to fulfil his promises, influenced by Waldeck, he acted in opposition to the imperial interests, and even formed a plan for a great alliance against the Habsburgs. These projects were disturbed by the war which broke out in 1655 between Sweden and Poland. In this struggle the elector fought first on one side and then on the other; but the important consequences of his conduct belong rather to the history of the duchy of Prussia (q.v.). The transfer of the elector's support from Sweden to Poland in 1656 was followed by the fall from power of Waldeck, who was succeeded by Otto von Schwerin (1616-1679), under whose influence the elector's relations with the emperor became more cordial.

The increase in the prestige of Brandenburg was due chiefly to his army, which was gradually brought to a high state of efficiency. A proper organization was established to superintend the pay and maintenance of the soldiers, and they were commanded by experienced officers, among others by Georg Derfflingen (1606-1695), and Otto von Sparr (1605-1668). The general poverty, however, made the estates reluctant to support a standing army, and after the peace of Oliva in 1660, it was reduced to about 3500 men. The continual difficulties with the estates of his different dominions had harassed and hampered the elector, and the general peace which followed the treaty of Oliva offered a favourable opportunity to curtail their powers. Undaunted by two previous rebuffs he attacked the estates of Cleves, and by a display of force gained a substantial victory. Some important privileges were annulled, and he obtained a considerable sum of money. The _Landtag_ of Brandenburg was not cowed so easily into submission, but an increase of revenue was obtained, and the stubborn struggle which ensued in Prussia ended in a victory for the ruler. This increased income enabled the elector to take a more considerable part in European politics. In 1663 he assisted the imperialists in their struggle with the Turks; in 1666 the dispute over Cleves, Mark and Ravensberg was finally settled, and Brandenburg were confirmed in the possession of these lands; and in the same year a reconciliation was effected with Sweden. Several disputes which threatened to disturb the peace of the Empire were settled through his mediation, and he compelled the citizens of Magdeburg to do homage to him. In religious matters he interceded with the emperor and the diet for the Protestants, and sought, but without success, to bring about a reconciliation between Lutherans and Calvinists in Brandenburg.

The elector's relations with Louis XIV. of France are full of interest. After the conclusion of the war of devolution in 1667, he allied himself with Louis, and together they agreed to support the candidature of Wolfgang of Neuburg for the vacant Polish throne. In 1668, moreover, he refused to join the triple alliance against France, but soon afterwards became aware of the danger to his country from the aggressive policy of Louis. The United Provinces were bound to him by religious interests, political considerations, and family ties alike, and he could not be indifferent when their position was threatened by France. In spite of tempting offers from Louis, he was the first to join the Dutch when they were attacked by Louis in 1672, and conducted an ineffectual campaign on the Rhine until June 1673, when he was forced to make peace. In July 1674, however, he joined the Empire, the United Provinces and Spain, and in return for a subsidy, fought against France in Alsace. Meanwhile Louis had instigated the Swedes to invade Brandenburg, which had been left to the care of John George II., prince of Anhalt-Dessau. Hastening from Franconia to defend the electorate, Frederick William gained a complete victory over a superior number of the enemy at Fehrbellin on the 28th of June 1675, a great and glorious day for the arms of Brandenburg. Aided by the imperialists and the Danes, he followed up this success, and cleared Brandenburg and Pomerania of the Swedes, capturing Stettin in 1677 and Stralsund in 1678, while an attack made by Sweden on Prussia was successfully repelled. The general peace of Nijmwegen was followed by the treaty of St Germain-en-Laye in June 1679 between Sweden and Brandenburg. Owing, however, to the insistence of Louis XIV. and the indifference, or weakness, of the emperor Leopold I., the elector was forced to restore western Pomerania to Sweden, in return for the payment of 300,000 crowns by France. This feebleness on the part of his ally induced Frederick William to listen more readily to the overtures of Louis, and in 1679, and again in 1681, he bound himself to support the interests of France. He had, moreover, a further grievance against the emperor as Leopold refused to recognize his right to the Silesian duchies of Liegnitz, Brieg and Wohlau, which had been left without a ruler in 1675. About 1684, however, the foreign policy of Brandenburg underwent another change. Disliking the harshness shown by Louis to the Protestants, the elector concluded an alliance with William, prince of Orange, in August 1685; and entered into more friendly relations with the emperor. Further incensed against France by the revocation of the edict of Nantes in 1685, he made an alliance with Leopold in January 1686, agreeing in return for a subsidy to send troops against the Turks. Soon afterwards he received Schwiebus to compensate him for abandoning his claim on the Silesian duchies, and in a secret treaty made promises of support to Leopold. The great elector died in May 1688, leaving his territories to his eldest son, Frederick.

The remarkable services of Frederick William to his country can best be judged by comparing its condition in 1640 with that in 1688. At his accession the greater part of his territory was occupied by strangers and devastated by war, and in European politics Brandenburg was merely an appendage of the empire. Its army was useless; its soil was poor; its revenue was insignificant. At his death the state of Brandenburg-Prussia was a power to be reckoned with in all European combinations. Inferior to Austria alone among the states of the Empire, it was regarded as the head of the German Protestantism; while the fact that one-third of its territory lay outside the Empire added to its importance. Its area had been increased to over 40,000 sq. m.; its revenue had multiplied sevenfold; and its small army was unsurpassed for efficiency. The elector had overthrown Sweden and inherited her position on the Baltic, and had offered a steady and not ineffectual resistance to the ambition of France.

While thus winning for himself a position in the councils of Europe, Frederick William was not less active in strengthening the central authority within his own dominions. He found Brandenburg a constitutional state, in which the legislative power was shared between the elector and the diet; he left it to his successor substantially an absolute monarchy. Many circumstances assisted to bring about this change, among the chief of which were the want of harmonious action on the part of the estates, and the decline in the political power of the towns. The substitution of a permanent excise for the subsidies granted from time to time by the estates also tended to increase his independence, and the officials or _Steuerrathe_, appointed by him to collect this tax in the towns, gradually absorbed many of the administrative functions of the local authorities. The nobles and prelates generally preferred to raise their share of the revenue by the old method of a _bede_, or contribution, thus weakening the remaining bond between them and the burghers.

In matters of general administration Frederick William showed himself a prudent and careful ruler, and laid the foundation of the future greatness of Prussia in almost every department. The wounds inflicted by the Thirty Years' War were in a great measure healed, and the finances and credit of the state were established on a firm basis. Agriculture and commerce were improved and encouraged by a variety of useful measures, and in this connexion the settlement of a large number of Flemings, and the welcome extended to French Protestants, both before and after the revocation of the edict of Nantes, were of incalculable service. A small but efficient navy was founded, and strict economy, together with increasing resources, enabled a disciplined army to be maintained. Education was not neglected, a trading company was established, and colonies were founded on the west coast of Africa. In religious matters Calvinists and Lutherans were placed upon an equality, but the elector was unable to impress his own spirit of tolerance upon the clergy, who were occupied with ecclesiastical squabbles while the state of education and of public morals left much to be desired. The condition of the peasantry, however, during this reign reached its lowest point, and the "recess," or charter, of 1653 practically recognizes the existence of villenage. While the nobles had been losing power with regard to the ruler they had been increasing it at the expense of the peasants. The Thirty Years' War afforded them frequent opportunities of replacing the village _Schulzen_, or magistrates, with officials of their own; and the fact that their share of taxation was wholly wrung from the peasants made the burden of the latter much heavier than that of the townsmen.

Frederick III.

The new elector, Frederick III., followed in general the policy of his father. Having persuaded his step-brothers to surrender the principalities bequeathed to them by the great elector, he assisted William of Orange to make his descent on England; then in 1688 allied himself with other German princes against Louis XIV., and afterwards fought for the Empire against both France and Turkey. Before he became elector Frederick had promised the emperor that he would restore Schwiebus, and he was now called upon to fulfil this engagement, which after some murmuring he did in 1695. This fact, however, together with some slights put upon him at the peace of 1697, led him to look with less favour upon imperial interests. Frederick's chief adviser about this time was Eberhard Danckelmann (1643-1722), whose services in continuing the reforming work of the great elector were very valuable; but having made many enemies, the electress Sophia among them, he fell from power in 1697, and was imprisoned for several years. The most important work of the elector was to crown the labours of his father by securing the kingly title for himself and his descendants. Broached in 1692 this matter was brought up again in 1698 when the emperor and his ministers, faced with the prospect of a fight over the Spanish succession, were anxious to conciliate Brandenburg. It was at length decided that the title should be taken from Prussia rather than from Brandenburg as the former country lay outside the Empire, and in return Frederick promised to assist Leopold with 8000 men. The coronation ceremony took place at Konigsberg on the 18th of January 1701. The territorial additions to Brandenburg during this reign were few and unimportant, but the comparative wealth and prosperity enabled the elector to do a good deal for education, and to spend some money on buildings. In 1694 the university of Halle was founded; academies for arts and sciences were established, and Berlin was greatly improved. The subsequent history of Brandenburg is merged in that of Prussia (q.v.).

BIBLIOGRAPHY.--H. Brosien, _Geschichte der Mark Brandenburg in Mittelalter_ (Leipzig, 1887); G.G. Kuster, _Bibliotheca historica Brandenburgensis_ (Breslau, 1743); and _Accessiones_ (Breslau, 1768), and _Collectio opusculorum historiam marchicam illustrantium_ (Breslau, 1731-1733); A. Voss and G. Stimming, _Vorgeschichtliche Alterthumer aus der Mark Brandenburg_ (Berlin, 1886-1890); F. Voigt, _Geschichte des brandenburgisch-preussischen Staats_ (Berlin, 1878); E. Berner, _Geschichte des preussischen Staats_ (Berlin, 1890-1891); A.F. Riedel, _Codex diplomaticus Brandenburgensis_ (Berlin, 1838-1865); J. Heidemann, _Die Reformation in der Mark Brandenburg_ (Berlin, 1889); _Forschungen zur brandenburgischen und preussischen Geschichte_, edited by R. Koser (Leipzig, 1888 fol.); T. Carlyle, _History of Frederick the Great_, vol. i. (London, 1858); J.G. Droysen, _Geschichte der preussischen Politik_ (Berlin, 1855-1886); E. Lavisse, _Etude sur une des origines de la monarchie prussienne_ (Paris, 1875); B. Gebhardt, _Handbuch der deutschen Geschichte_, Band ii. (Leipzig, 1901). (A. W. H.*)

BRANDENBURG, the central and one of the largest provinces of Prussia, consisting of a part of the former electorate of Brandenburg from which it derives its name. With the other territories of the elector of Brandenburg, it was merged in 1701 in the kingdom of Prussia, and when the administration of Prussia was reformed in 1815, Brandenburg became one of the provinces of Prussia. The boundaries of the new province, however, differed considerably from those of the old district. The old mark, the district on the left bank of the Elbe, was added to the province of Saxony, and in return a district to the south, taken from the kingdom of Saxony, was added to the province of Brandenburg. It has an area of 15,382 sq. m., and is divided into the two governments of Potsdam and Frankfort-on-Oder; the capital, Berlin, forming a separate jurisdiction. The province is a sandy plain interspersed with numerous fertile districts and considerable stretches of woodland, mostly pine and fir. Its barrenness was formerly much exaggerated, when it was popularly described as the "sandbox of the Holy Roman Empire." It is generally well watered by tributaries of its two principal rivers, the Elbe and the Oder, and is besides remarkable for the number of its lakes, of which it contains between 600 and 700. The mineral products comprise lignite, limestone, gypsum, alum and potter's earth; barley and rye are the usual cereals; fruits and vegetables are abundant; and considerable quantities of hemp, flax, hops and tobacco are raised. The breeding of sheep receives much attention, and the province exports wool in considerable quantity. Bees are largely kept, and there is an abundance of game. The rivers and lakes also furnish fish, particularly carp, of excellent quality. The climate is cold and raw in winter, excessively hot in summer, and there are frequently violent storms of wind. The manufacturing industry of the province is both varied and extensive, but is for the most part concentrated in the principal towns. The most important branches are the spinning and weaving of wool and cotton, the manufacturing of paper, and the distillation of brandy. Pop. (1895) 2,821,695; (1905) 3,529,839.