User:Stephen2nd/Prussian Empire
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History of the Prussian Empire | |
---|---|
Details | |
Style | His Imperial and Royal Majesty |
First monarch | William I |
Last monarch | William II |
Formation | 18 January 1871 |
Abolition | 18 November 1918 |
Residence | Stadtschloss, Berlin |
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Prussia in the German Empire (1871 - 1918)
Prussia (German: Preußenⓘ; Old Prussian: Prūsa; was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. The Kingdom of Prussia (German: Königreich Preußen) was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. From the 1871 unification of Germany to its defeat in World War I, Prussia comprised almost two-thirds of the territory of the German Empire. It took its name from the territory of Prussia, with its power base in Brandenburg.
The name Prussia derives from the Old Prussians. After the Second Peace of Thorn of 1466, Prussia was split into the western Royal Prussia, a province of Poland, and the eastern part, since 1525 called Duchy of Prussia, a fief of the Crown of Poland up to 1657. The union of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 led to the proclamation of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701. Prussia achieved its greatest importance in the 18th and 19th centuries. During the 18th century, it became a great European power under the reign of Frederick the Great (1740–1786). During the 19th century, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck united the German principalities into a "Lesser Germany" which would exclude the Austrian Empire. After 1810 Prussia dominated Germany politically, economically, and in population, and was the core of the unified North German Confederation formed in 1867, which became part of the German Empire or Deutsches Reich in 1871.