During the Thirty Years' War, the Calvinist George William tried to remain neutral in the contest between the CatholicEmperor Ferdinand II, and his mostly Lutheran opponents. When the war shifted to northern Germany in 1625, this did not protect his lands from being looted by Imperial troops, and he was forced to take sides when Gustavus intervened in the Empire in 1630. However, this simply replaced one set of plunderers with another; Gustavus could not support so large an army, and his unpaid and unfed troops became increasingly mutinous and ill-disciplined.[3]
After Gustavus was killed at Lützen in November 1632, George William joined the Swedish-backed Heilbronn League, until defeat at Nördlingen on 6 September 1634. Following the 1635 Peace of Prague, the League was dissolved, although by now Brandenburg's population had been decimated by the war.[4]
Leaving his Catholic and pro-Imperial chief minister Schwarzenberg to run the government, George William withdrew in 1637 to the relatively untouched region of Prussia, where he lived in retirement until his death at Königsberg in 1640. He was succeeded by his far more accomplished son Frederick William.[5]
Ancestry
Ancestors of George William, Elector of Brandenburg
Clark, C (2008). Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947. Harvard University Press. ISBN978-0674023857.
Johnson, Christopher H; Sabean, David Warren (2011). Sibling Relations and the Transformations of European Kinship, 1300-1900. Berghahn Books. ISBN978-0857450463.
O'Connell, Daniel Patrick (1968). Richelieu. Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Wedgwood, CV (1938). The Thirty Years War (2005 ed.). New York Review of Books. ISBN978-1590171462.
Wilson, Peter H. (2009). Europe's Tragedy: A History of the Thirty Years War. Allen Lane. ISBN978-0-7139-9592-3.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to George William, Elector of Brandenburg.
george, william, elector, brandenburg, george, william, german, georg, wilhelm, november, 1595, december, 1640, hohenzollern, dynasty, margrave, elector, brandenburg, duke, prussia, from, 1619, until, death, reign, marked, ineffective, governance, during, thir. George William German Georg Wilhelm 13 November 1595 1 December 1640 of the Hohenzollern dynasty was Margrave and Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia from 1619 until his death His reign was marked by ineffective governance during the Thirty Years War He was the father of Frederick William the Great Elector George WilliamPortrait of Georg William by Mathias Czwiczek c 1635Elector of BrandenburgDuke of PrussiaReign23 December 1619 1 December 1640PredecessorJohn SigismundSuccessorFrederick WilliamBorn 1595 11 13 13 November 1595Berlin GermanyDied1 December 1640 1640 12 01 aged 45 KonigsbergBurialKonigsberg CathedralSpouseElizabeth Charlotte of the PalatinateIssueLouise Charlotte Duchess of CourlandFrederick William Elector of BrandenburgHedwig Sophia Landgravine of Hesse KasselHouseHohenzollernFatherJohn Sigismund Margrave of BrandenburgMotherAnna of PrussiaReligionCalvinistSignature Contents 1 Biography 2 Ancestry 3 References 4 Sources 5 External linksBiography EditBorn in Colln on the Spree today part of Berlin George William was the son of John Sigismund Margrave of Brandenburg and Anna of Prussia His maternal grandfather was Albert Frederick Duke of Prussia In 1616 he married Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate Their only son Frederick William would later be known as the Great Elector Of his two daughters the eldest Louise Charlotte married Jacob Kettler Duke of Courland and the younger Hedwig Sophie married William VI Landgrave of Hesse Kassel 1 In 1619 George William inherited the Margravate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia then part of Poland although his ownership was not confirmed by Sigismund III Vasa until September 1621 He proved a weak and ineffective ruler in a very difficult period of history possession of Prussia involved him in the 1621 to 1625 Polish Swedish War since Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden was married to his sister Maria Eleonora 2 During the Thirty Years War the Calvinist George William tried to remain neutral in the contest between the Catholic Emperor Ferdinand II and his mostly Lutheran opponents When the war shifted to northern Germany in 1625 this did not protect his lands from being looted by Imperial troops and he was forced to take sides when Gustavus intervened in the Empire in 1630 However this simply replaced one set of plunderers with another Gustavus could not support so large an army and his unpaid and unfed troops became increasingly mutinous and ill disciplined 3 After Gustavus was killed at Lutzen in November 1632 George William joined the Swedish backed Heilbronn League until defeat at Nordlingen on 6 September 1634 Following the 1635 Peace of Prague the League was dissolved although by now Brandenburg s population had been decimated by the war 4 Leaving his Catholic and pro Imperial chief minister Schwarzenberg to run the government George William withdrew in 1637 to the relatively untouched region of Prussia where he lived in retirement until his death at Konigsberg in 1640 He was succeeded by his far more accomplished son Frederick William 5 Ancestry EditAncestors of George William Elector of Brandenburg8 John George Elector of Brandenburg4 Joachim Frederick Elector of Brandenburg9 Sophie of Legnica2 John Sigismund Elector of Brandenburg10 John Margrave of Brandenburg Kustrin5 Catherine of Brandenburg Kustrin11 Catherine of Brunswick Wolfenbuttel1 George William Elector of Brandenburg12 Albert Duke of Prussia6 Albert Frederick Duke of Prussia13 Anna Maria of Brunswick Calenberg Gottingen3 Duchess Anna of Prussia14 William Duke of Julich Cleves Berg7 Marie Eleonore of Cleves15 Archduchess Maria of AustriaReferences Edit Johnson amp Sabean 2011 p 133 Wilson 2009 pp 189 190 O Connell 1968 pp 253 254 Clark 2008 p 26 Wedgwood 1938 p 438 Sources EditClark C 2008 Iron Kingdom The Rise and Downfall of Prussia 1600 1947 Harvard University Press ISBN 978 0674023857 Johnson Christopher H Sabean David Warren 2011 Sibling Relations and the Transformations of European Kinship 1300 1900 Berghahn Books ISBN 978 0857450463 O Connell Daniel Patrick 1968 Richelieu Weidenfeld amp Nicolson Wedgwood CV 1938 The Thirty Years War 2005 ed New York Review of Books ISBN 978 1590171462 Wilson Peter H 2009 Europe s Tragedy A History of the Thirty Years War Allen Lane ISBN 978 0 7139 9592 3 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to George William Elector of Brandenburg George William Elector of BrandenburgHouse of HohenzollernBorn 13 November 1595 Died 1 December 1640 aged 45 Regnal titlesPreceded byJohn Sigismund Elector of BrandenburgDuke of Prussia1619 1640 Succeeded byFrederick William Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title George William Elector of Brandenburg amp oldid 1139246943, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
