Tuesday, January 24, 2012

The Great Frederick

It was on this day in 1712 that the future King Friedrich II of Prussia was born, better known as Frederick the Great, one of the "Enlightened Despots" and the military genius who held off almost all the great powers on the continent with his small but matchlessly efficient army.

6 comments:

  1. Howdy, MadMonarchist!

    I always find it weird how some historians group together Catherine the Great, Frederick the Great, and Geroge III! Catherine was a murderess, Frederick was a military lunitic, and George III....Farmer George??? He just tried to crush a rebellion that sprung up in his territories like any self-respecting monarch would! People always tend to overlook the fact that his reign presided over the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars as well. What do you think about it?

    Oh, by the way, I posted an introductory comment down by the Battle of Rorkes Drift article if you interested!

    God Bless,
    Pearl

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  2. The only people I've ever seen group them together were American Catholic pop-historians who consider them all bad since none were Catholic, George III because he was the obstacle to the birth of the United States and to highlight Empress Maria Theresa of Austria as the one and only good monarch in Europe at the time. I don't think much of tearing down one (or multiple monarchs) to puff up another. The virtues of Maria Theresa are good enough to stand on their own. But, that goes the other way too. I'm not terribly fond of Catherine the Great but she was not without her own accomplishments and Frederick the Great was certainly no lunatic. As for King George III, in my view, one of the finest men to ever sit on the British throne.

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  3. Thank you for replying, MadMonarchist, what you say makes a lot of sense! In fact, the book I was referring to was a Catholic American popular history book! As a Catholic, I am generally unsatisfied with some things in Catholic history curriculum. I would very much like to write a more balanced book for Catholic school/homeschool use. Well, that is once I learn some more about the good points of Frederick the Great - LOL!

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  4. Of all those I have read, most are overall pretty good, but I've never found one I agree with 100%. As for Old Fritz, he did do some good things but his "Enlightenment" reputation, while popular with most, is not something that would be on my list. Most of my praise for him is reserved for the military sphere. The man was a military genius and that has nothing to do with his character or other policies. I always remember Napoleon and his marshals visiting his tomb (after conquering Prussia) and telling his men to take their hats off because, "if he were alive, we would not be standing here". And that's coming from a man who was not known for his efusive praise of anyone other than himself.

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  5. I would greatly appreciate it if you made something about this man. As for his 'enlightenment' it showed that he was a modern monarch (I'm comparing him to monarchs like Her Majesty the Queen of England and others) and a military genius. He was also a patron of the arts (A quality I have a complete lack of) and was generally a good king. I'm certain you could make a great article on Fritz, mein Konig und Held, and possibly fall in love with him as a monarch. I highly recommend watching, "Frederick the Great and the Prussia Enigma" on youtube. It has very interesting information and was the gateway in educating me on King Frederick, and ultimitely, to becoming a monarchist.

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    Replies
    1. I certainly will in due time. I don't like everything about him (either in domestic or foreign policy) but I still have a great deal of admiration for Frederick the Great. His diverse talents and amazing accomplishments cannot be ignored or discounted. He almost single-handedly made Prussia a major power.

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