Frederick-William III.

Frederick-William III., king of Prussia, son of Frederick-William II., was born 3d August 1770, and ascended the throne in 1797. His reign may be divided into three periods. During the first of these his lack of energy and purpose led him to take up an attitude of passive neutrality towards Napoleon; but at length the truculent policy of the latter so exasperated the Prussians that, instigated by their queen, they forced the king to declare war against the French (1806)—a most disastrous step, as, after being thoroughly worsted at Jena and Auerstädt, Frederick-William was compelled to flee into East Prussia, leaving his kingdom to be overrun and his capital captured by Napoleon. Nor was that all: by the Treaty of Tilsit (1807) Prussia was diminished by one-half, being deprived of all her territories west of the Elbe, and all that she had acquired by the partition of Poland. The second period (1806-15) is marked by the administrative reforms of Stein (q.v.) and the war of liberation (see GERMANY). By the Treaty of Vienna (1815), which terminated that war, Prussia recovered her possessions west of the Elbe, and acquired the duchies of Berg and Juliers (Jülich), the northern half of Saxony, and other districts in Westphalia, besides securing the remaining (Swedish) portion of Hither Pomerania; but she gave up her Polish acquisitions, with the exception of Posen, to Russia, the province of Friesland to Holland, and Ansbach and Baireuth to Bavaria. The last period of this reign was generally one of reaction. The king and his minister Hardenberg applied the Metternichian principles of government in Prussia, rigorously suppressing the democratic movements of 1819 and 1830, and strictly curtailing the freedom of the press. Nevertheless, the policy of reform inaugurated by Stein did not remain altogether stationary; provincial diets were established (1823), though allowed merely consultative functions; the finances were put on a better footing; the system of taxation was greatly improved; education was encouraged; and the Zollverein or customs union was established. In private life this king exhibited the virtues of justice, a strong sense of duty, purity, and love of truth; but his public conduct was rendered unsatisfactory by his indecision of character, his great diffidence, narrowness of view, and the limited extent of his knowledge. His wife was the beautiful and noble-minded Louisa (q.v.), idolised by the Prussian people for her patriotism. He died at Berlin, 7th June 1840, and was succeeded by his son, Frederick-William IV.