Prussia

Duchy of Prussia and Electoral Brandenburg Hartogdom Preußen un Kurbrandenborg
1618–1814
Flag
Status	Personal union (1618-1755) State of the HRE (1755-1814)
Capital	Berlin, Königsbarg
Official languages	Low German, French
Recognised regional languages	Polish, Lithuanian
Government	Feudal monarchy
History
• Established	1618
• Disestablished	1814

Prussia (Low German: Preußen), or Brandenburg-Prussia (Brandenborg-Preußen), refers to the Hohenzollern-ruled territories of the Duchy of Prussia and Electoral Brandenburg after 1618. The two realms were in personal union until 1755; thereafter, Brandenburg functioned as an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire until its abolition in 1814.

Nomenclature

While commonly referred to as Prussia, these lands were collectively referred to as Brandenburg-Prussia (Brandenborg-Preußen) between 1618 and 1814, when they were in personal union. After the Treaty of Vienna abolished the Duchy of Prussia, Brandenburg still nominally laid claim to the Duchy, continuing the usage of the dated term Brandenburg-Prussia. However, in the late 18th century, most began referring to the Hohenzollern territories of the North European Plain simply as Brandenburg.

History

The Protestant Franconian branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty inherited Brandenburg in 1415 and the Duchy of Prussia in 1525. In 1618, the prince-electors of Brandenburg, ruled by a senior branch of the Hohenzollern family, inherited the Duchy of Prussia, which had been ruled by a junior branch. At the time, each entity was subject to a larger empire - the Holy Roman Empire and Poland respectively.

In 1748, Prussia's Frederick II established a secret military agreement with France, sharing his goals to conquer Silesia from Austria. In 1750, the Franco-Prussian Entente began the Great Silesian War. Five years later, the Hohenzollern monarchy was defeated by a coalition led by Austria and Britain. The 1755 Treaty of Vienna removed Frederick II from his position, stipulating that the personal union between his two domains was to be unconditionally broken. The Duchy of Prussia was re-established as a fief of Poland, nominally being led by his son, Duke Augustus Ferdinand. Meanwhile, the head of the Brandenburg-Schwedt cadet branch, George William II, was made prince-elector of Brandenburg.

After 1755, many Prussians emigrated to Brandenburg, Sweden, and France, contributing to the intellectual and military culture of these realms. During the Augustine Wars, Prince Henry Charles - a longtime admirer of Augustine Spiga - discreetly sided with the French government. In the 1814 Treaty of Vienna, Brandenburg was disestablished and partitioned between Pomerania and Saxony, with its western enclaves going to Hanover and the German Confederation. After the loss of their territories, many northern Hohenzollerns settled in Berlin, Prague, and Paris, while others retreated to their ancestral and Catholic homeland of Swabia.

Legacy

The fall of Prussia is featured heavily in early proto-national-republican rhetoric, with the Prussian nobility being antagonized. Prussian intellectuals in Paris, such as Henri-Georges von Auerswald, often repeated the idea that the fragile monarch must give up their divine right to rule and fully merge with the people's interests in order to form a republic free from corrupting influences. This was later used by 20th century national republican leaders in Russia and elsewhere to provide a recent historical basis for their ideology.

List of monarchs

Name	Reign		Branch	Notes
George William	1619	1640	Brandenburg-Prussia
Frederick William	1640	1684
Charles I	1684	1704
Frederick I	1704	1721
Frederick William II	1721	1742
Frederick II	1742	1755
George William II	1755	1769	Brandenburg-Schwedt
Charles II	1769	1781
Joachim	1781	1802
Frederick William III	1802	1811
Joachim Frederick II	1811	1814