STORY
Margrave Georg Friedrich von Brandenburg was entrusted with the administration of the Duchy of Prussia by the Poles (1577), then overlords of that former territory of the Teutonic Order. Margrave was a title given at that time to the sovereign princes of certain border states of Germania. His successors continued to fulfill the same function, but always facing resistance from the Prussian nobility. The Duchy of Prussia was a dependency of the Kingdom of Poland until the 17th century (1660), and the Kingdom of Prussia remained a part of Poland until the reign of Frederick II the Great (1772).
Historically the territory of Prussia was acquired from Poland, by the treaties of Wehlau (1657) and Oliva (1660) by Frederick William de Hohenzollern, the Great Elector of Brandenburg (1640-1688), who achieved the release of the duchy from the suzerainty of Poland and the recognition of its sovereignty, which soon became effective (1662), with the submission of the nobility. To the initial territories were soon added others such as the counties of Cleve and Mark, in the Rhineland, and the county of Ravensburg, in the Weser.
As Elector he strengthened the administration and organized an army supported by the Huguenots, a derogatory designation that French Catholics gave to Protestants, especially the Calvinists, who were persecuted by Louis XIV in France, constituted a true elite of officers, civil servants and intellectuals, welcomed in the Prussia, especially in Berlin, and began to establish itself as a future independent nation with Frederick's victory at Fehrbellin (1675) against the Norse allies of the French. Frederick III of Brandenburg had permission (1701) from Leopold I, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, to use the title Frederick I, King of Prussia.
Thus the territory was elevated to a kingdom (1701), having as king Frederick I or Frederick III of Brandenburg, Elector of Brandenburg (1688-1701), although the definitive imposition came after the inauguration of Frederick William I (1713). This was a dedicated and severe administrator, who endowed the country with an excellent army, the third in Europe after of Russia and France, and boosted the economy of the kingdom mainly with the wool industry with which the army dressed.
Frederico Guilherme I reigned for 37 years (1713-1740), married Sofia Dorotéa, daughter of George Luís, elector of Hanover, the last of the three patrons that the mathematician extraordinary Leibniz served in Hanover, who became George I of the England. Frederick II the Great (1740-1786), successor of Frederick William, used the mighty army of Prussia to take the great and prosperous province from Silesia to Habsburg Austria (1740), and under his reign the great philosopher Kant lived most of his life, all of it in Konigsberg.
Prussia was surrounded by small kingdoms, hundreds of small principalities and duchies. Germanic, until William I (1797-1888) assumed the crown (1861) and set out to unify them into one great empire. The opposition being suppressed, he launched a program of unification of the German states under his leadership, aided by Bismarck, the future chancellor. Only King Ludwig of Bavaria still hesitated to declare his membership.
It took nearly a decade for the fragmented Germania, with its many small principalities and kingdoms, to coalesce into a single sovereign state under the leadership of Prussia. During this period, there were three wars to achieve this goal: the first against Denmark (1864), the second against Austria (1866) and the last against France (1870-1871).
With Napoleon III's surrender in Sedan, and with the well-planned development of an enthusiastic nationalist spirit, the accession of the principalities that still resisted the national unification was conquered, and in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles, in Paris, in the presence of the Germanic court, many German princes and numerous high-ranking military men in full dress, decorated with medals, proclaimed the Prussian king as emperor. That year was like the founding of the German Empire (1871), 170 years after the Prince Elector of Brandenburg was crowned the first king of Prussia. Bismarck would become the Prussian prime minister and first chancellor, head of government of the newly founded empire.
The Prussian Empire did not survive the adventure of World War I (1914-1918), less than half a century later, and its last emperor, b>William II (1859-1941), died in exile (1941). Prussia as a state was practically abolished by the Nazis (1934) and legally by the Allies (1947). However, the term remains relevant due to historical, geographic and cultural usages. The name Prussia comes from the Prussians, a Baltic people related to the Lithuanians and in German it is written Preußen or Preussen, in Latin Borussia, in Polish Prusy, and in Lithuanian Prusai.
ROLL OF SOVEREIGNERS
a) The list of Prussian monarchs can be divided into:
1 - Electors or Governors of Brandenburg (1577-1701);
2 - the Prussian Kings (1701-1871) and members of the Hohenzollern family;
3 - Emperors of Germany (1871-1918).
b) The list of kings is as follows:
Frederico Guilherme (1620 - 1688), the Great Elector (1640-1688)
Frederick I (1657-1713): Elector (1688-1701): King for 12 years (1701-1713)
Frederick Guilherme I (1688-1740): King for 27 years (1713-1740)
Frederick II the Great (1712-1786): King for 46 years (1740-1786)
Frederick William II (1744-1797): King for 11 years (1786-1797)
Frederick Guilherme III (1770–1840): King for 43 years (1797-1840)
Frederick Guilherme IV (1795–1861): King for 21 years (1840-1861)
William I (1797-1888): King (1861-1871) and German Emperor (1871-888)
Frederick III (1831-888): reigned for 99 days (1888)
William II (1859-1941): reigned until the end of World War I (1888-1918)
COMMENTS:
1 - Friedrich Wilhelm (German), Frederick William (English) or Frederico Guilherme (Portuguese) are three versions of the same name!
2 - Kings of Prussia in German spelled König von Preussen (old Preußen)
Map copied from JAY WILPOT / MAPS website:
http://www.1familytree.com/index.htm
Source: http://www.dec.ufcg.edu.br/biografias/
Order R - Biography - Brazil School
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/biografia/reino-da-prussia.htm
