FREDERICK WILLIAM (1620-1688), elector of Bran denburg, usually called the "Great Elector," was born in Berlin on Feb. 16, 162o, son of the elector George William, and Elizabeth Charlotte, daughter of Frederick IV., elector palatine of the Rhine. He studied at the university of Leyden and learned some thing of war and statecraft under Frederick Henry, prince of Orange, whose daughter, Louise Henriette he married in 1646. He became ruler of Brandenburg and Prussia by his father's death in Dec. 1640, and set to work at once to repair the damage wrought during the Thirty Years' War, still in progress. He secured his investiture as duke of Prussia from Wladislaus,- king of Poland, in Oct. 1641, but was not equally successful in crush ing the independent tendencies of the estates of Cleves. In Bran denburg, he showed his supreme skill as a diplomatist and admin istrator. His disorderly troops were replaced by an efficient and disciplined force ; his patience and perseverance freed his domin ions from the Swedish soldiers; and the restoration of law and order was followed by a revival of trade and an increase of mate rial prosperity. After a tedious struggle he centralized the admin istration, controlled and increased the revenue, and no department of public life escaped his sedulous care (see BRANDENBURG). The area of his dominions was increased at the peace of Westphalia in 1648, and this treaty and the treaty of Oliva in 166o added to his prestige. By a clever but unscrupulous use of the position of his dominions between Sweden and Poland he procured his recogni tion as independent duke of Prussia from both powers and even tually crushed the stubborn opposition offered to his authority by the estates of the duchy (see PRUSSIA) . In 1666 his title to Cleves, Jiilich and Ravensburg was definitely recognized. He failed to annex the western part of the duchy of Pomerania, which he had conquered from the Swedes, owing to the insistence of Louis XIV. at the treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye in 1679, and he could not obtain the Silesian duchies of Liegnitz, Brieg and Wohlau from the emperor Leopold I. when they fell vacant in 1675.
Frederick William played an important part in European poli tics. Although found once or twice on the side of France, he was generally loyal to the interests of the empire and the Habsburgs. Himself a Protestant, he supported Protestant interests abroad on political rather than on religious grounds, and sought to strengthen Brandenburg by allaying the hostility between Luther ans and Calvinists. His success in founding and organizing the army of Brandenburg-Prussia was amply demonstrated by the great victory which he gained over the Swedes at Fehrbellin in June 1675, and by the eagerness with which foreign powers sought his support. He was also the founder of the Prussian navy. The elector assisted trade in every possible way. He made the canal which still bears his name between the Oder and the Spree; established a trading company ; and founded colonies on the west coast of Africa. He encouraged Flemings to settle in Branden burg, and both before and after the revocation of the edict of Nantes in 1685 welcomed large numbers of Huguenots, who added greatly to the welfare of the country. Education was not neglected ; and if in this direction some of his plans were abortive, it was from lack of means and opportunity rather than effort and inclination. The services of the great elector to Brandenburg and Prussia can only be properly appreciated by comparing the con dition of his country in 1640 and in 1688. Poverty had given place to comparative wealth, and anarchy to a system of govern ment which afterwards made Prussia the most centralized state in Europe. In fighting local privileges his conduct was doubtless despotic. He regarded absolute rule as the best guarantee for the internal and external welfare of the state.
The great elector died at Potsdam on May 9, 1688, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Frederick. He deserves the eulogy passed upon him by Frederick the Great, Messieurs; celui ci a fait de grandes closes. By his second marriage, with Dorothea (d. 1689), widow of Christian Louis, duke of Brunswick-Lune burg, he had f our sons and three daughters. His concluding years were troubled by differences between his wife and her step-son, Frederick; and influenced by Dorothea he bequeathed portions of Brandenburg to her four sons, a bequest which was annulled under his successor.
See J. G. Droysen, Geschichte der preussischen Politik (Berlin, 1$55 86) ; M. Philippson, Der grosse Kurfiirst (Berlin, 1897-1903) ; E. Heyck, Der grosse Kurfiirst (Bielefeld, 190a) ; Spahn, Der grosse Kur fiirst (Mainz, 19oa) ; H. Prutz, Aus des grossen Kurfiirsten letzten Jahren (Berlin, 1897) . Also Urkunden and Aktenstiicke zur Geschichte des Kurfiirsten Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg (Berlin, 1864 190a) ; T. Carlyle, History of Frederick the Great, vol. i. (London, 1858) ; and A. Waddington, Le Grand Electeur et Louis XIV. (Paris, 1905).