Frederick the Great：his enlightened absolutism and national interests

• Main Authors: Shih-HungWang, 王世宏
• Other Authors: Chi Wang
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2017
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/2e2y2j

碩士 === 國立成功大學 === 歷史學系 === 105 === SUMMARY This thesis attempts to discuss the reason why Frederick the Great who grew up in the autocratic royal house would be willing to accept and try to practice the enlightenment ideas in his mind? Is the role and duties of a ruler differ from the traditional autocratic monarchy under the influence of the Enlightenment thought? What is the real interests of Prussia and how did Frederick achieve that? Still, this thesis try to discuss that how Frederick to integrate his thought about the duties of the ruler into his rule. And when personal ideals and national interests is in conflict, how do Frederick make the choice? This thesis plans to understand the conditions of Prussia under the rule of Frederick the Great and the evaluation of contemporary and later generations to Frederick as the model of enlightened absolutism ruler and its contribution to Prussia. Keyword: Frederick the Great, Enlightened Absolutism, Enlightenment, Prussia, anti-machievelli INTRODUCTION In the process of the development and rise of Prussia, Frederick the Great is one of the most important figures. During his reign, Frederick the Great not only enlarged the territory and population of Prussia but also raise Prussia to the main state of Europe. On the other hand, Frederick the Great is also a model of enlightened absolutism. He realized his enlightenment ideals through domestic policy in order to promote the welfare of his people. But in the process of the rise of Prussia, what are the main objects which Prussia needs and how could the rulers from the Great Elector to Frederick the Great achieve that? Furthermore, as the model of enlightened absolutism ruler, Frederick view himself as ‘the first servant of state’, and he look how to promote the welfare of his people as an important purpose of rulers. Meanwhile, Frederick also put the national interests of Prussia in the first place. So this thesis wants to understand how Frederick the Great combined the national interests and enlightened ideals in his policies. MATERIALS AND METHODS This thesis mainly use the original works of Frederick the Great ,and those works were collected in “Die Werke Friedrichs des Großen“ (ten volumes) .These works contain most of the writings of Frederick the Great, and in that we can see the thoughts of Frederick the Great about politics, economics, military, finance, philosophy, even literature. Among these works, the political testament of 1752 is the most important resource provided the principles of the Frederick’s rule. Frederick’s other works finished after the Seven Years War also provided the concepts or the considerations about how Frederick the Great face the crises in 1770s and 1780s. Besides, this thesis also use many biographies of Frederick the Great in order to more understand the pass research. Conclusion Although Frederick William I and Frederick II are quite different from the character and preferences, there are still many similarities in their ways of rule. The differences and similarities of Frederick and his father to a certain extent came from his education and growth process. The education from Rocoulle and Duhan and the military education from General Fenkenstein and Colonel Kalckstein made Frederick love French culture and literature, on the other hand, also made Frederick know about the operation of Prussia's military-centered system. Frederick also affected by the works of the enlightenment thinkers. For instance, in the work of Wolf, he emphasis that the ruler should rule according to the rational principle, and need to establishment the welfare of his people under the principle of reason. The more important thing is because of the correspondence with Voltaire Frederick express his pursuit of a rational way of ruling the state in his anti-Machievelli. In this article ,Frederick thinks that the rulers must have a noble character, like honesty, justice. However, because of the experiences in the administrative and military services, Frederick realized that he must consider from a higher perspective to insight into various events in order to obtain the real interests of Prussia. From this point of view, Frederick's rule is different from the traditional despotism monarch. Frederick the Great thought that the ruler must be the head of the family of the state, the father of the people, the last refuge of the unfortunate, the father of the orphan, the husband of the widow, and the help of all the poor people. As the ruler of government, he must be the first commander of the army, the first minister of the internal affairs, more importantly, his actions must be in line with his responsibilities, and fulfill his duties with prudent and correct attitude. Indeed, under the initiative of Frederick, the territory and population of Prussia both expended. Frederick, with his astonishing energies, made use of and developed everything he had inherited, and raised Prussia into the first-rank power of Europe . This might be the most important contribution of Frederick the Great in Prussia's history.