R617thA

The shift in social stutures from hierachical orders to modern social classes to the changes distributions of wealth and proverty

Friedrich William in 1688

Frederick became Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg in 1688, upon the death of his father Frederick William. The Hohenzollern state was then known as Brandenburg-Prussia, as the family had possessions including Brandenburg within the Holy Roman Empire and Ducal Prussia outside of the empire. Although he was the Margrave and Elector of Brandenburg and the duke of Prussia, Frederick desired the more prestigious title of king. However, according to Germanic law at that time, with the exception of the Kingdom of Bohemia, no kingdoms could exist within the Holy Roman Empire. Frederick began to build his nation's status when Leopold I, archduke of Austria and Holy Roman emperor, was convinced by Frederick to allow Prussia to be ruled as a kingdom. This agreement was ostensibly given in exchange for an alliance against King Louis XIV of France in the War of the Spanish Succession. Frederick's argument was that Prussia had never belonged to the Holy Roman Empire and therefore there was no legal or political barrier to prevent the elector of Brandenburg from being king in Prussia.

"Frederick I of Prussia." New World Encyclopedia. 2 Apr 2008, 07:14 UTC. 21 Apr 2009, 14:52 .