Prussian Absolutism (AP Euro Review)

http://www.tomrichey.net/euro

An introduction to Prussian absolutism in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. After the Thirty Years' War, Frederick William, the Great Elector, began to build an absolutist state in Prussia-Brandenburg. He and his grandson, Frederick William I (the "Soldier King"), built Prussia into a great power by putting together the most elite military force in early modern Europe. Using a religious policy of Protestant toleration, enlisting the Junkers (nobles) as a service nobility, taxing by decree, and establishing the first system of compulsory public education, "the Fredericks" built a successful absolutist state.

This e-lecture is suitable for AP European History and Western Civilization students, as well as lifelong learners seeking to learn European history for their own viewing pleasure!

This is part of my lecture series on absolute monarchy in early modern Europe. Check out my other lectures on European absolutism:

Foundations of Absolutism:    • Foundations of Absolutism (AP Euro)  
Louis XIV of France:    • Louis XIV: Sun King of France