His Monstrous Father - Frederick the Great - European History - Part 1 - Extra History

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And don't forget that Frederick's relationship with his father was SO bad that he wrote in his will that he wanted to be buried with his greyhounds, instead next to his father

"This angered his father, who punished him severely."

After rewatching the Catherine the Great episode, I can see why him and Catherine did connect well.

"A secret library of 3000 books" Literal door in the palace with a sign that reads 'Definitely NOT a library ' King: "Well, all seems in order here"

Frederick the Great introduced us Germans to potatoes, what a fucking legend

"When his mother found out that his sister was being beaten by her tutor, she hired a different tutor. Frederick's father... preferred to do the beating himself." -Jack Rackham, in his own video about Frederick in 2022.

3:12 The story of these "giants" was tragic in its own right. Not only were many of them press ganged and kidnapped from their homes in other countries, Fredrick apparently took a number of them and tried to "make them taller" via a "stretching device." Yep, he literally put his own men on a rack torture device to pop their spines and try to make them a bit taller. He EVENTUALLy ceased the experiment after a few were torn apart, but yeah. Just in case there was any question as to whether or not Fredrick was abusive only towards his family.

The fact he became such a great reformer, (and he wasnt just a warmongerer) after this childhood and teenage years, is amazing

This reminds me of a Joseon(Korean) prince who was abused by his father for the opposite reasons from Frederick. The prince was fond of martial pursuits and even wrote a book a spear techniques. But his father hated him for not being confucian enough. He was treated in a similar fashion to Frederick, this lead to him cracking under the pressure and going insane. He killed three of his attendants and for this crime the king locked him in a box and starved him to death.

Frederick William: In order to make my son manly and godly, I will have him tutored only by men and boss around attractive warriors. This will not awaken anything in him.

No idea how you manage to hide 3000 books but respect on Fredrick's part

8:09 For anyone wondering, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI personally intervened and insisted that a prince of any imperial estate could only be tried before the Imperial Diet, hence why Frederick wasn’t put to death

This puts a whole new light on how Fritz would treat Sophie and especially her mother years later.

Fredrick liked the arts and modern ideas. This angered his father, who punished him severely

“Where some states have an army, the Prussian Army has a state.” -Voltaire

you actually forgot that even his own mother tried to escape with him

Frederick the Great also had an appearance on one of my favorite Epic Rap Battles of History. Hail the flute-busting Prussian!

Fredrick Der Grosse was probably one of the most capable military and political leaders of his period. An authoritarian autocrat who supported the arts, education, and sciences and rightfully deserves the title Enlightened Despot.

The peculiar title "King in Prussia" had nothing to do with the size or importance of the realm. It was about loopholes: 1. Prussia was the one part of the composite realm of Brandenburg-Prussia that actually was not within the boundaries of the HRE, so once it stopped to be a Polish fiefdom, there was nothing stopping the Hohenzollerns from crowning themselves there. 2. Besides the Ducal (or Eastern) Prussia, there was also the other Prussia: Royal Prussia, which was part of Poland. Therefore, calling themselves "Kings of Prussia" would imply making a claim to the lands of Polish Kings.