Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 20.djvu/23

Rh HISTORY.] PRUSSIA 11 In 1772 Prussia and Austria, in order to prevent an overweening growth of Russia, joined in the first partition of Poland. Frederick's share consisted of West Prussia and the Netze district, a most welcome addition, filling up the gap between the great mass of his territories and the isolated district of East Prussia. It had also this advan- tage over later acquisitions at Poland's expense, that it was a thoroughly German land, having formed part of the colonizations of the Teutonic Order. In 1778 Prussia found herself once more in opposition to Austria on the question of the Bavarian succession, but the war that ensued was almost entirely nominal, and the difficulty was adjusted without much bloodshed. The same question elicited the last action of importance in which Frederick engaged, the formation of a " Fiirstenbund," or league of German princes under Prussian supremacy, to resist the encroachments of Austria. The importance of this union was soon obscured by the momentous events of the French Revolution, but it was a significant foreshadowing of the duel of Austria and Prussia for the pre-eminence in Ger- many. Frederick died on 17th August 1786, having in- creased his territories to an area of 75,000 square miles, with a population of five and a half millions. The revenue also had immensely increased and now amounted to about twenty million thalers annually, of which, however, thirteen were spent on the army. The treasury contained a fund of sixty million thalers, and the land was free of debt, rederick A continuation of the personal despotism under which r illiam Prussia had now existed for seventy years, as well as of its disproportionate influence in Europe, would have required a ruler with something of the iron will and ability of Frederick the Great. Unfortunately Frederick's nephew and suc- cessor, Frederick William II. (1786-1797), had neither the energy nor the insight that his position demanded. He was too undecided to grasp the opportunity of adding to Prussia's power by adhering to the vigorous external policy of his predecessor, nor did he on the other hand make any attempt to meet the growing discontent of his subjects under their heavy burdens by putting himself at the head of an internal movement of liberal reform. The rule of absolutism continued, though the power now lay more in the hands of a " camarilla " or cabinet than in those of the monarch ; and the statesmen who now came to the front were singularly short-sighted and inefficient. The freedom of religion and the press left by Frederick the Great was abrogated in 1788 by royal ordinance. In 1787 the army engaged in an expensive and useless campaign against Holland. The abandonment of Frederick's policy was shown in a tendency to follow the lead of Austria, which culminated in an alliance with that power against revolu- tionary France. But in 1795 Prussia, suspicious of the Polish plans of Russia and Austria, concluded the separate peace of Basel, almost the only redeeming feature of which was the stipulation that all north German states beyond a certain line of demarcation should participate in its benefits. This practically divided Germany into two camps and inflicted a severe blow on the imperial system. The indifference with which Prussia relinquished to France German lands on the left bank of the Rhine, compared with her eagerness to increase her Slavonic terri- tories on the east, was certainly one of the great blunders of the reign. Prussia's share in the second and third partitions of Poland (1793 and 1795) nearly doubled her extent, but added little or nothing to her real power. The twelve years following the peace of Basel form one of the most sombre periods of the history of Prussia. Her prestige was lost by her persistent and ill-timed neutrality in the struggle with France ; the old virtues of economy, order, and justice disappeared from the bureaucracy ; the army was gradually losing its excellence and was weakened rather than strengthened by the hordes of disaffected Polish recruits ; the treasury was exhausted and a large debt in- curred ; the newly-awakened feeling of German patriotism had died away, especially among the upper classes. Frederick William III. (1797-1840) possessed many Frederick virtues that did him credit in his private capacity, but he William lacked the vigour that was at this juncture imperatively required from a ruler of Prussia, while he was unfortu- nately surrounded by counsellors who had as little concep- tion as himself of Prussia's proper role. He continued to adhere closely to a policy of timid neutrality and seemed content to let Prussia slip back into the position of a second-rate state, the attitude of which in the great Euro- pean struggle could be of no special importance. Not even the high-handed occupation of Hanover by the French in 1803 could arouse him ; and the last shred of self-respect seemed to have been parted with in 1805 when Prussia consented to receive Hanover, the property of its ally England, from the hands of France. The formation of the Confederation of the Rhine in 1806 and the intelligence that France had agreed to restore Hanover to England at last convinced Frederick William of what he had to fear from Napoleon; while Napoleon on his side, being now free of his other antagonists, was only too glad of an opportunity to destroy his tool. Prussia declared war on 9th October 1806 ; and the short campaign that ensued showed that the army of Frederick the Great had lost its virtue, and that Prussia, single-handed, was no match for the great French commander. On 14th October the Prussian armies were overthrown at Jena and Auerstadt, and a total collapse set in. Disgraceful capitulations of troops and fortresses without a struggle followed one another in rapid succession ; the court fled to East Prussia ; and Napoleon entered Berlin in triumph. At the peace of Tilsit (9th July 1807) Frederick William lost half his kingdom, including all that had been acquired at the second and third partitions of Poland and the whole of the territory to the west of the Elbe. An enormous war indemnity was also demanded, and the Prussian fortresses were occupied by the French until this should be paid. Prussia now paid heavily for its past remissness and drained the cup of humiliation to the dregs. The next half-dozen years form a period of the greatest significance in the history of Prussia, embracing, as they do, the turning-point in the moral regeneration of the country. The disasters of 1806 elicited a strong spirit of devoted patriotism, which was fanned by the exertions of the " Tugendbund," or League of Virtue, and by the writ- ings of men like Fichte and Arndt. This was accompanied by a wonderful revelation of vitality and recuperative power. The credit of the reformation belongs mainly to Stein's the great minister Stein, and in the second place to the reforms chancellor Hardenberg. The condition on which Stein based his acceptance of office was itself of immense import- ance ; he insisted that the system of governing through irresponsible cabinet councillors, which had gradually be- come customary, should cease, and that the responsible ministers of departments should be at once the confidential advisers and the executive agents of the king. Stein's designs and wishes extended to the establishment of a regular system of parliamentary and local government like that of England, but he had not an opportunity to do much more than begin the work. His edict of 1807 abolished serfdom and obliterated the legal distinction of classes by establishing freedom of exchange in land and free choice of occupation. 1 The " Stadteordnung " of 1808 1 Previous to this measure the distinction between "noble,' "burgher," and "peasant" laud and occupations was strictly observed, and no transition of property or employment from one class to another was possible.