Frederick the Great Turns Prussia Into a Great Power
A Hohenzollern king wins wars against Austria and modernizes Prussian institutions, laying groundwork for later German unification
Quick facts
- Reign
- 1740-1786
- Dynasty
- House of Hohenzollern
- Major wars
- War of the Austrian Succession, Seven Years' War
- Territory gained
- Silesia (from Austria)
What happened
Frederick II, later known as Frederick the Great, took the Prussian throne in 1740 at age 28, inheriting a state that had grown into a significant regional power over the previous century under the House of Hohenzollern, particularly under Frederick William, the Great Elector, who had developed Brandenburg-Prussia into a major force in the second half of the 17th century. Over his 46-year reign, Frederick fought repeated wars against Austria and its allies, most significantly the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War, expanding Prussian territory by seizing Silesia from Austria while overhauling Prussian administration, law, and the military into one of the most efficient states in Europe.
Why it matters
Frederick transformed Prussia from what historians describe as a third-rate European power into a state capable of directly challenging Austria for leadership of the German-speaking world, a rivalry that would not be settled until the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. His military and administrative reforms also created the institutional core, professional bureaucracy and army, that Bismarck later used as the engine of German unification.
How we know
Frederick's reign is extensively documented through Prussian state archives, his own voluminous writings and correspondence (he wrote in French as well as German and corresponded with Voltaire), and contemporary military records from his campaigns.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Frederick the Great: Forging the Prussian State · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- Lumen Learning (Boundless World History). Frederick the Great and Prussia · General sourcecourses.lumenlearning.com · Cited as a "reference" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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