Frederick The Great - Biography

In this video, we discuss the life of Frederick II The Great, king of Prussia, and what made him Great.
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[@therearenoshortcuts9868]

"what made him Great" his outfit, it's awesome

[@shaunibabe1]

He looks like a crossdresser tp me

[@maxmuller8633]

His mother: Constance

[@marywave7081]

MGTOW Lawyer nah man it was his mysic

[@mieszkothemigrantmercenary2808]

What made him great was the fact that he made me great

[@rja8504]

People ask me for a great historic gay. I am trying to find one that is greater the Frederick the Great. I can’t.

[@porcelaindoll1228]

Let's not forget him dissing on Ivan the Terrible

[@jackiereed1296]

Cartman Dulex yeah he killed him with a nuce

[@thesweyy5999]

He only needed 12 bars to defeat him.

[@Kriegter]

FREDERICK BEST KING

[@tondomapping6119]

Best king ever

[@mushroomsamba82]

Oblique attack tactics ain't exactly straight

[@mutajin7701]

Let's not forget one of his more unofficial titles: "Der Kartoffelkönig" engl. "The Potato King" . Because he introduced the potato to the Prussian farmers and even invented some recipes for potato dishes himself, most notably the mashed potato. To this day visitors to his grave in his old palace Sanssouci near Berlin lay potatoes on his grave to his honor.

[@tripplebarrelfinn4380]

You forgot to mention the funny part. Legend has it, that Fredrick wanted to convince the people of Prussia to eat more potatos but they weren't having it (since new and unkown vegetable to them). So he had them planted on a few fields and put royal guards around them and said that they a his royal possesion and its forbidden for everybody else. So the people began stealing them from the fields and started planting potatos themselfs just as Fredrick planed it.

[@AnnieBlackmore]

Frederick used to joke about his campaign for the potatoe. In a humorous innuendo on Louis XIV's quote "En France l' etat c'est moi!" ( In France I am the state) Frederick used to say "En Prusse le cuisinier c'est moi!" (In Prussia I am the cook)

[@hoodclassicsofcalifornia]

I think a nickname giving for Frederick is "Der Alte Fritz" english "The Old Fritz". Because Fritz is a german nickname for Frederick so fully translated it's "The Old Frederick"

[@jgvtc559]

Dude just spoke perfect french i dont know what he said but dang

[@aymarafan7669]

@Jason G Some in the comments was saying that the apparent translation of it is some dude letting a dog break into a restaurant! If that’s the case it’s so hilarious he doesn’t know what he just read! 🤣🤣👍

[@Peggyt-jp6mt]

@@aymarafan7669 There is a restaurant in Montreal called Le Chien Fumant which means "the smoking dog" . The patreon name means "It is Julian who brought the dog into the restaurant". Fire of Learning is produced by Justin who is half French Canadian so it is not unusual that he can speak French.

[@jgvtc559]

@@Peggyt-jp6mt do they have a title or is it just french Canadian like are they called something Like in new Orleans they have Creole

[@aymarafan7669]

@Peggyt1243 Yeah forgot about him being half French Canadian, actually so yeah he probably did know what that meant. Hope they don’t cook little doggies though, I was in Montreal last June and our chihuahua was with us and she was whining a lot, when we went by this restaurant. So....

[@Peggyt-jp6mt]

@@aymarafan7669 The animals lovers and the SPCA would go ballistic if dogs were cooked in Canada. In China apparently it is done openly and there is even a market for dead dogs.

[@mayor6366]

I don’t know if I’m Prussian but I know I’m German and without Frederick strengthening Prussia, Germany may not have existed so I thank him for that

[@MrZZ-py4pq]

I like the culture of Prussia.

[@theartistformidablyknownas3807]

@Fabian Kirchgessner This is a smile of pain

[@Kriegter]

Then join us

[@Kriegter]

Join our people

[@evilemuempire9550]

The discipline boost is a bit OP

[@Kriegter]

@@evilemuempire9550 1470% discipline so far, growing every day tho

[@mitchellblake1475]

"King Frederick William..." Ahem WILHELM!

[@Groeliker]

Ahem... Friedrich Wilhelm

[@OneOnOne1162]

2:20 - I think I speak for everyone who can understand French when I say... "What?"

[@sum_andres31]

Indeed hahaha

[@geckowithapencil1373]

What does it mean?

[@yanceyricks2601]

Fetish; I translated what was said on google which means, “it was Julian’s dog that went into the restraunt.”

[@aaronbacon9087]

This is a Bruh Moment for sure

[@Fireoflearning]

Brüh

[@aaronbacon9087]

@@Fireoflearning Holy shit wassup Fire my guy

[@pierresihite8854]

You lads are truly men of culture

[@Kriegter]

SCHEISSE

[@Kriegter]

He is better than Napoleon relatively, according to technological limits and time period Also, Napoleon said himself that he won:t be in Berlin if Frederick is still alive

[@hurensohn1273]

And napoleon failed

[@tondomapping6119]

@@hurensohn1273 good

[@youraveragedailygamer5448]

Wouldnt say that as napoleon's tactic was very smart and wise and yes he said that quote but a battle between them without outdated or other tech napoleon is far better

[@Kriegter]

@@youraveragedailygamer5448 shut up or you'll be exiled

[@Kriegter]

@@youraveragedailygamer5448 you are speaking against our God, our Frederick.

[@TAK-yj4hj]

Yeah his „tutor“

[@rayleighs2840]

Friz the Great demonstrated a good example for actualizing the integration of culture-art-science-agriculture-military-diplomacy during war time.

[@Kriegter]

The greatest example of German pride Better that Austrian square moustache guy whoever he is

[@Snowfireblues]

I firmly believe that it was his pursuits in these other areas were instrumental in his success. There is an old martial arts saying that says that fighting encompasses EVERY aspect of your being, mind, body and soul. An individual who is sharp in all three areas is nigh undefeatable

[@aaravtulsyan]

Can you do a "History of India" video just like "History of England" or "History of Germany"?

[@Idahoguy10157]

Frederick had a talent for conquering, war, and scheming. The favorite sports of European nobility.

[@5Andysalive]

If you count how much offensive wars each major european nation was involved in in it's history, Prussia is very nearly at the end of the list. I mean between all the wrs mentioned here, when he had abreak, The rest was almost always still at it. He conquered little silesia and had to defend it afterwards. Nothing like britain slaiughtering it's way through natives world wide.

[@thelvadam2884]

@@5Andysalive and yet they stole Prussia from us....

[@katovomkozies]

*Favorite sports of ALL nobility across the globe. Europeans were just the best at it

[@5Andysalive]

The Wars got him the Great. And only them. But he was so much more. So much ahead of his time in some things. Which barely ever gets mentioned! Like here. The video jumps from War to War... Completely ignoring everything else "he was" or did. there were over TEN years between 1745 and 56! And 20 more after the 7year war. He wasn't in Cryo-Sleep between wars. "In the year of his ascension" He abolished torture*, he stopped the censoring of the press for the innerpolitical part**. And yes, he also started his attacking war against Austria (silesia) in it... this are quite a few interesting things aside from the wars. Let's rephrase that: He stablished a FREE PRESS in 1740 in an absolute monarchy! That meant everybody could critisize even him without consequences. He was part of his time though and had to face realities. He abandoned his attemps to end serfdom in the face of massive restistance from Prussias aristoracy. He enforced it however on crown owned land. While he wasn't dreaming of democracy, he invested a lot in free (and enforced***) education to raise the general standards of literacy which were abysmal at the time. And yes, War was a legitimate political tool. When he thought it to the advantage of the country, he used it. However he didn't sit in his palaces, letting his generals do his job, never seeing the horror of battlefields. A complex and highly interesting historical character beyond just the battles! Not easy to grasp or sort into black&white. But he genuinly tried to do what he thought was best for the country. That included wars. He got it mostly right as history shows. Silesia cost Prussia a LOT in his generation. But without it's ressources Prussias meteoric rise later was unthinkable. His greatest achievement however wasn't Leuthen. It was the reforming of the prussian law system into something surprisingly modern in concept. One book of laws, applying to everybody. And he spend much time of his days in later life to make it that also in the real world. The "Allgemeines preussisches Landrecht" is still visible at the core of current Germanies Law books. He introduced, as absolute monarch, rights and freedoms to the public that went beyond anything the french revolution achieved before Napoleon had to make massive concessions to get back into power. His Prussia was also the first european power with an extensive trading deal with the infant United states when the rest of the world tiptoed around them so not to anger Brittain. "The Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the Kingdom of Prussia and the United States of America" (September 10, 1785) signed by Frederick the Great and George Washington. Wikipedia: "Additionally, the Treaty demanded the unconditionally humane custody for war prisoner, a novelty at the time." Fritz should have been scared to Sh*t by the ideas floating around in the US constitution. And Washington and Jefferson, who negotiated the treaty, should have rejected an absolute monarch. They didn't. That treaty is well worth it's own video. But of course it wouldn't be War, war, war, war, war, war, war, war, war, war, war, war, war, war, war, war, .... *in 1740 Torture was banned for all but high treason and mass murder (or something like that) . These last exceptions he also removed, later. ** foreign politics parts were still censored so to avoid diplomatic incidents. So alien was the idea of an independent press. * * * Farmers and other workers would rather have their children helping in the work then them "wasting" hours in schools. So it was made mandatory. It could have been better organised and funded but it was a start.

[@5Andysalive]

However, there is quite a bit more to say also about Frederick Wilhelm I. All is said here is right. In short he was a MASSIVE asshole. BUT he also pulled Prussia out of the medieval rural age and kickstarted what became Prussias economy. His economical and structural reforms were the foundations for Prussias rise. And his army! But the army was also used a s a tool to drive the economy. It was a pretty smart construct. Even Frederick II. who for obvious reasons wasn't terribly keen of his father, admitted that. Without his groundwork neitehr the wars nor the big infrastructure projects under his son wouldn't have been possible. There were actually plans and concepts for drying out the huge swamp areas in Pommerania. They were too expensive for the time but marked by FWI. as "for my son," And his son did it. At huge costs. And gave the land to free and independent farmers.

[@Pippin2luv]

Gosh, thank you guys for writing this out. I love studying this sort of stuff and just recently took it upon myself to educate my AP Euro class on how cool he is.

[@slavkoostojic2514]

This kind of comment was what i was looking for!

[@JustinLee-jm5wn]

Damn! he has so many fans! incuding me

[@harpers1203]

AYYYYY bro Justin I just wanted to say that I love your videos so much. The way you talk about history is so therapeutic and I feel like you're an actual friend talking to me for once. Keep making awesome content dude!

[@Fireoflearning]

Thank you!

[@madduxparker642]

He had creative talents and battle malice. He was hard as steel on the field and gentile in the palace

[@williamheayn3760]

Voltaire not only stayed with Frederick, but was also his lover.

[@josemendes9769]

Could you maybe one day do one of these for Catherine the Great of Russia?

[@troykacey5787]

This channel is extremely underrated. I love your content and please keep making more

[@aymarafan7669]

Thanks so much for this upload, I have studied Fredrick’s sorrowful upbringing for sure. His wise to power is very inspiring.

[@davidecuccato]

Great video! I just finished reading book about Frederick the Great by historian Alessandro Barbero. If you know italian, or if you find a translation, definitely pick it up. It's a quick and very informative book for who is interested by history but doesn't have the time to read original documents or large academic works. I've always been fascinated by the figure of Frederick II

[@keyvansafaei6639]

150% discipline baby!!

[@BrickFan97]

I'm Frederick the Great, out the gate, first servant of state

[@firstconsul7286]

8:55 I've seen that is often the case for the great military kings. Their father forged the tools that they would use to mark their place in history.

[@aarondemiri486]

how I'd love to see Gustavus Adolphus Peter the Great Frederick the Great and Napoleon having discussion on the military and their influence on the world

[@MrFantasnick]

That’s cool and all but...Why did you let the dog into the restaurant, Julien ?

[@aymarafan7669]

@GentlemanlyNinja So that’s his name in french🤣🤣

[@patrickneault2067]

I have that account. That is the stupidest story you will ever hear. When we were kids a very long time ago, the Julien in question accidentally let our dog get in a restaurant. There was no harm done and it was funny. But like a climate denyer, he always refused to aknowledge any responsability in the matter. He denied it happened, he said it was me that did that, he even made up a crazy narrative that if was my fault I let him do that. So over the year it became a (funny, not agressive at all) controversy. Every now and then, we find a way to remind eachother of that story. For some time, I wanted to give some money to help make these great videos, so I saw an opportunity to do that in a funny way. As for the videos, please keep making them. I like the way they are both complete and concise in telling us the History of countries.

[@aymarafan7669]

@Patrick Neault Was this is in Paris or something?!

[@patrickneault2067]

@@aymarafan7669 It was near Montréal, Québec.

[@kevindong9999]

Patrick Neault you have my respect sir

[@connorkelly5457]

He would hardly care if the guy was just his tutor... they were lovers.

[@byzantine2840]

Hot take Fredrick was great because of his pure raw love of masculinity and men

[@fatman6660]

"An enlightened despot " lol I love that line

[@Bestialce2007]

I'm glad I found this channel :) Sep.7, 2019

[@Kriegter]

He is the Prussian god of war now worship him or get annexed

[@rodrigosoutilha9751]

You again

[@biliminsrlar5752]

*What made Frederick great?* Me:His hat

[@JM-ik9kw]

It's disappointing that you miss or hide the fact that he was gay. Von Katte was not only his tutor, but more importantly, his lover (which makes sense to explain why they tried to escape to England together and that he was depressed after his horrible execution).

[@Fireoflearning]

Never tried to hide it, thought I implied it.

[@granville7]

even if this thing with his tutor was closer than what was widely acceptable back then, labelling him 'gay' is probably not quite right. if anyone of us would be so tightly controlled when raised by an unforgiving and cold-hearted father, plus being the crown prince, isolated from any 'normal' companionship, peers etc, noone to confide in. then if you find one tutor you can bond with, who is actually responding and allows to address other subjects, then almost all of us would get emotionally attached and eventually do silly things. this episode wouldn't have happened if he was raised in a normal family.

[@shorewall]

Wow, I had heard of him in passing, but Frederick was a cool dude! :)

[@susanli7149]

von Katte was Frederick's best friend and possibly lover, he wasn't a "tutor"?

[@lucaslevinsky8802]

Frederick was a titan, confirmed

[@alexanderdeburdegala4609]

That "Tutor" he was going to run away with was also his lover.

[@nattygsbord]

Any evidence for that claim?

[@ShallowContrarian]

​@@nattygsbord I don't know if they were explicitly lovers, but Frederick was gay so it's very likely, this is widely accepted by modern historians when Frederick writes things like "Fortune has it in for me; she is a woman, and I am not that way inclined."

[@alexanderdeburdegala4609]

History books try reading once. Frederick the Great was gay

[@mikemike8623]

@@nattygsbord Frederick was gay and he was an astonishing person

[@nattygsbord]

@@alexanderdeburdegala4609 According to Pierre Gaxotte did he make love to his wife. And before it was decided that Frederick was going to marry her, rumours say that he was very attracted to an English princess that he found very pretty. So I ask again, where are the sources?

[@sebastianduran2022]

I dunno if you’re taking suggestions at the moment, but there’s so little content on YT about the history of the Dominican Republic. I might be biased on account of being from there, but I find it so interesting and overlooked. Would you consider making a video on it?

[@aymarafan7669]

@Sebastian Duran Woah I have a crush there!

[@Fireoflearning]

Sounds like a good topic

[@emperordemetrius3832]

Can you do one on Basil II?

[@arddermout6946]

casanova briefly mentions a stay at the court of frederick in his memoires. worth checking out for all those interested in this time of european history.

[@pigfigjig]

Lovely intuitive .very nicely explained beautiful in the short time provided.. thankyou...

[@shvagyerpl]

Another great video. Can't wait to see your take on the history of Poland.

[@coolcatmcfat7658]

Frederick was great because he only said bless you one time to cover all sneezes that might follow

[@yueren3646]

Lmao remember when Frederick II was rumored to be gay as a teenager, and when his father found out he killed his rumored lover and sent Frederick to some old-timey pray-away-the-gay camp

[@theprussianfemboy165]

Rumoured Is a fucking understatement

[@rogueraven1333]

The map at 0:09... OMG Berlin used to be sexy! What happened to that?

[@decathegr8657]

Development of the Brandenburg region throughout both the Prussian and German Empire eras. World war 2 mostly destroyed a lot of the buildings in Berlin and Germany got a chance to rebuild most of the city from scratch thus creating the current and, in my opinion, better city.

[@gideonhorwitz9434]

The chad that could play the flute

[@michaelsoland3293]

This would have been a great video to have when I was writing my term paper last year lol

[@placeholder1237]

He’s a flute busting Prussian anyone get that reference

[@keelyleilani1326]

Please do Maurice De Saxe, Marshall Turenne, Louis II De Bourbon the Great Conde, and Prince Eugene of Savoy. Four of the greatest military commanders of the 17th and early 18th centuries.

[@henninghoyer5163]

It would have been worth mentioning that his tutor that was executed in front of him was most likely also his lover. Friedrich the great is widely considered to have been gay

[@RJLbwb]

"The Great" is a miss translation thanks to Voltar and his drinking habit. It originally was "Fredrick The Base" in reference to him smashing it on the base in his musical compositions. All accounts say that man could rock it with a flute.

[@Dionaea_floridensis]

This would make a really good manga

[@Gam3rnathan]

You should read "Gunka No Baltzar" if you want a good manga based around 18th Century German War shiet

[@yanniskouriotis7420]

Nice video, mate. As always.

[@warbringer5554]

Imagine if he fought Napoleon in the Napoleon wars in his prime

[@granville7]

his tactics were outdated and Napoleon would have won every battle^^

[@guardiadecivil6777]

​@@granville7 not trying to downplay napoleon but if napoleon faced him during the early coalition wars he would have needed to alot of luck since frederick the great was already an experienced general and would most likely not fall for his traps. napoleon himself said that he was lucky that frederick the great already passed when he invaded prussia otherwise he wouldn't have been successful or if he was successful, it would have been costly.

Also called der alte Fritz.

[@clifftrainor6774]

Man, Peter the third was really rebelling against his mom wasn't he?

[@shpilbass5743]

Nice background music

[@charlesthepaperman]

Saupreissn, zefix!

[@daisybrain9423]

x'D

[@wholeNwon]

If Elizabeth had lived just a little longer or if she had set aside Peter as her successor or if Catherine had overthrown him sooner, Frederick would have been destroyed. I wonder then how world history would have evolved.

[@destinator7741]

Damn! I wished To live during this years, especially being a general or just commander of the prussian army

[@arddermout6946]

you clearly never had scabbies

[@roddo1955]

@@arddermout6946 or fought in a war

[@historyrhymes1701]

Prussia glory intensifies

[@nattygsbord]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pGawZGSca8mBnbM

[@yolakin8210]

Very well presented!

[@nickmalgus5626]

I just realized that you basically have to be of royal blood to be called the great.

[@SupremelyFly]

Damn your French is 👌. I didn't expect an American to be able to speak like that

[@Dell-ol6hb]

Ibti Uddin he is half French Canadian

[@SupremelyFly]

@@Dell-ol6hb explains everything

[@mauertal]

Between the wars, during a Long night discussion, Frederick noticed, that his cavalry General has fallen asleep. Everybody feels the tense Situation ...and Frederick said "Let him sleep, he was awake enough 4 us" ...and begged the People into another room ....

[@tylerliu2632]

you nailed the pronouciation of Der Soldatenkönig

[@senafoster]

Frederick the Great is my grrrrrreat grandfather. 👑

[@LittleGobliin]

This man is a historical idol of mine and I eat up any information regarding him and his reign. Thank you for well founded research and attention to detail.

[@CA-tz2sg]

I am a descendant of Frederick... thank you for this video!

[@CA-tz2sg]

@@reesehendricksen4838 correct my grandmother was a direct decendant...last name Brandenburgh. I'm only 6 percent German but 90 percent British...go figure.

[@jaxsonh.266]

Frederick is Great, Because Frederick is Good.

[@rrvillareal2011]

Can you create a video about the procerb "fortune favors the bold"

[@perseverancev1473]

damn, he was.. a really great leader.

[@anawesomepet]

He is him.

[@donnyboon2896]

Yes

[@charlesdarwin2118]

L love this history era of europe Now 70, but at dutch school none of iT

[@Albukhshi]

@ 2:23 That is one glorious sentence! @ 3:09 He counted on the power of Schlamperei to win that one. Unfortunately for his third war, his opponent--Maria Theresa--was somehow immune to the Schlamperei bug (she naturally needed time to weed out the illness from the country during the first two Silesian Wars--a quest she was only partly successful in). @ 7:57 Well, he's not wrong: guy would have been alive had he just been a general (I doubt he'd serve on the frontline--Frederick wasn't into appointing idiots to such a post).

[@Artur_M.]

Great video, although to be honest there is a part of me that is a bit sad and maybe even bitter that both Frederic and Catherine, the great "enlightened despots" and chief culprits of the destruction of Polish Lithuanian-Commonwealth get so much appreciation. Meanwhile, for example, Tadeusz Kościuszko "the purest son of liberty", gets so little, despite supposedly being a hero of not only Poland (also Lithuania and Belarus, depending on who you ask) but also America. Eh nevermind me, I'm just a fanboy. ;)

[@ryanjuguilon213]

Why? Both built their state,your idol destroyed it. If he suceeded and freed Poland im sure he would be celebrated.

[@Shirokroete]

Fun fact: He was also gay ! Like, literally. He was a homosexual.

[@Shirokroete]

@@Aristonika9999 A man's gotta experiment, y'know

[@francismigs2224]

The example of a perfect monarch

[@marschallblucher6197]

"Prussia was surrounded" *Cries in Hanoverian*

[@EmilicoYamigos]

There used to be a Nation, where an army had their own city-state. And later that same nation, unified the germans (well at least some of them) and by the hand of Prussia, found the German Empire to give the German people out of fully charity their own Empire to be proud.

[@SLIMSHADY1357]

Fuck yeah! Ya gotta love Frederick the great

[@EnderBlazeVS]

fredrick do be gr8

[@rogueraven1333]

Make Prussia great again

[@granville7]

4:03 why do you still call Maria Theresa 'Archduchess'? she became empress in 1745 but the time of her accession is not relevant for your naming, is it?

[@robinrodgers1340]

I laughed so fucking hard when he read those patreon supporters' names out loud

[@519djw6]

Although he is considered the father of Prussia as the preeminent German state, Frederick "the Great" was never able, or interested in, learning German well. He invited many French philosophers to his retreat, "Sanssouci," where he hobnobbed with French philosophers, speaking with them exclusively in French. It has been said of him that he stated that German was the "language you used to speak to horses." And by the way, he was a pretty good composer of Classical music, DVD's of which are easy to come by today.

[@nattygsbord]

I think it was quite common that the ruling class didn't speak the same language as their subjects. The German kings in Russia and England in the 1700s are examples of that. Gustav III in Sweden was also French speaking King , and in the 1650s did both Denmark and Sweden have German speaking kings who went to war with their countries against each other, and neighter of those Kings could speak Danish or Swedish.

[@519djw6]

@@nattygsbord Thank you for making this point. I would also add that from the time of the Norman Invasion of 1066 until 1399 every King of England spoke French as his first language. The reason that I made this comment about Frederick II was that many otherwise educated Germans don't even know this about him.

[@NeverEverClever]

@@519djw6 This is different though - Fredericks native language was german so he was proficient in german. He just admired philosophy and the arts and sciences, which were dominated by french as "lingua franca" - common language you would use to communicate and write so other scientists and philosophers could understand - much like english is today. Thus he used french in those circumstances. He was basically a nerd talking klingon to other nerds.

[@herrwagnerianer1739]

Of course he spoke German which was his native tongue. But he was, just like most noblemen of his time, a great admirer of French culture and thought that contemporary German art was inferior which he adressed in his essay "De la littérature allemande" (On German Literature). In it, he made clear, though, that he hoped German literature would be refined and eventually be on a par with its French counterpart, for he loved the "common fatherland", i.e. Germany, just as much as everyone else as he wrote in the first sentence. His stance on the inferiority of German culture and especially literature was, by the way, met with great disappointment among the circles of German intellectuals, poets, and authors who otherwise hailed him for his enlightened rule.

[@519djw6]

@@NeverEverClever In fact, he was not proficient in German, at least according to the book "Zweihundert Jahre deutscher Kultur (Two Hundred Years of German Culture): [Friedrich] "bediente sich der französischer Sprache, ohne je ein fehlerfreies Deutsch schreiben zu können." Translation: [Friedrich] made use of the French language, without ever being able to write error-free German."

[@falkenvir]

Napoleon Pathetically died on Exile, Fredrick died as King is his own Domain.

[@LoGStein]

This just goes to show that even a great kings needs opportunities. Had he not had them, we would have likely not been called "The Great", even though this wasn't in his hands.

[@nattygsbord]

I think people underestimate men like Frederick the Great, Gustavus Adolphus, and Leonardo da Vinci. Those mens brains would have been of great usefulness regardless in which European country they would have been born into. Adolphus and Frederick were more than just warrior kings. The former spoke a half-dozen languages fluently and was a gifted administrator and a great speaker who could get his solidiers to follow him everyware, and he was a loved husband, and even the lowest ranked finnish farmers in the Swedish Kingdom loved him for his fairness, as he stamped out the plunder and opression the Finnish nobility caused their people. And Frederick the Great was revolutionary with his ideas of religious freedoms and freedom of the press. He saved thousands of lives by introducing potatoes in Germany against the protests of superstitious farmers who thought they spread syphilis. Frederick built canals that improved trade, and he built up the first modern school system in the world. He was also a gifted flute player and a man who enjoyed the company of gifted men like Voltaire, Kant, and Bach. So Frederick are one of those few men which I would consider to be a timeless genius. And he would still have remained a great man even if he had lost the seven years war. Just the same way as men as Hannibal deserves to be remembered as one the greatest Generals in history despite he ended up with losing the war despite his three masterpieces at Cannae, Lake Trasimene, and Trebia. And now another topic. It is possible that history could have ended differently and that no one would have heard about our celebrities in history had they failed at a critical moment. George Washington could easily have lost the battle of Yorktown, and then USA would never have been created. Had the weather just been a few degrees warmer in 1658 then there would the ocean have not frozen into ice so that the Swedish army could have moved their forces to the island with Copenhagen on top of it and forced Denmark to sign the most humiliating and disasterous peace deal in their history. Instead would the situation have been the total opposite. The Swedish army would have fallen into the ice cold ocean water and entire regiments would have drowned or frozen to death. And Charles X of Sweden would have been remembered as a reckless gambler who destroyed the Swedish army by throwing it into the ice cold water while the country was at war with Poland, Russia, the Netherlands and Denmark at the same time, and while Austria and Brandenburg were also acting very hostile. He won the war against Denmark and is now remembered as a great conqueror King and brilliant strategist. But in hindseight can we say that he was a gambler and unfit as a king when he took such large risks that could have totally destroyed the Kingdom. The Swedish navy was too weak to sail the men to Denmark without getting sunk by Danish and Netherlandic ships. So starting a winter campaign in the small hope of getting some ice on sea was a crazy gamble that easily could have gone wrong.

[@LoGStein]

@@nattygsbord I agree entirely. I was simply stating that being a genius is unfortunately not enough. How many geniuses have been born into the lower class and simply never got the chance to prove themselves? Most great people of our history were not simply highly intelligent or brave or whatever, they were also extremely lucky. This situation I believe has improved over time as nowadays we do not have such a rigid class system, but we still have got a lot of work to do in order to use the full potential of our people.

[@quill444]

And so let's assume for just a moment that our United States has now reached what may become, in hindsight, the peak of its own existence: if we can last another two hundred some-odd years, we shall then maybe perhaps, in retrospect, be very similar (at least in longevity), to Prussia. Is that in any way a valid comparison? Thank you for your excellent video series! - j q t -

[@aymarafan7669]

@John Quill Taylor I think it is Inevitable that United States and many nation today in many centuries or Millenium from now, will become like Ancient Rome, and a new civilization will study us. Even the Romans and Greeks studied history that they considered ancient!!

[@AD-ji9ci]

@@aymarafan7669 What/whose history did the ancient Greeks and Romans consider as old?

[@aymarafan7669]

@mr cupboard Well there’s the Trojan Wars for example which had happened long before Alexander, they had some knowledge I believe of the Bronze-age kingdoms, like Amorite controlled Babylon, the empire of Mitanni, the civilization in Crete, the Egyptians, also the various kingdoms that exited in the Caucasus, like the Van kingdom, they may’be had some knowledge about it. Even the epic of Gilgamesh talks about “ancient” days.

[@AD-ji9ci]

@@aymarafan7669 ah I didn't know that, very interesting.

[@granville7]

the US won't last another 200yrs. that applies for many states. provided even when we find a way to tackle climate change. the social and geopolitical upheavals following climate change will shape the world in ways more radical than the last 200yrs

[@ZAR556]

Remind me of King Cnut the king of all England Sadly Frédéric don't have a son, lead to eventually German Empire lost in WW1

[@alexandreveigapereira8727]

Great video, but you should say the USA it is called the French and Indian War..not really called that in Canada.

[@kaydgaming]

Frederick The Great: The Gay One

[@JohnLozo]

"Tutor" meaning his romantic partner

[@kermitthethinker1465]

Frederick,was the father of the german state because,he open the way for Prussia dominate "Germany"aka all german lands except Austria. But hated too many people like Catholics,Jews,French(Well French are Catholic,but seriously he a Francophile hated the french),Poles(Catholic again),Brits(seriously britain his the worst ally that everyone can have),Austrians(Catholics and his enemy's),possibily also slavs.After he annexed Silesia,he started making etnic cleansing of poles,czechs and silesians.He send 500.000 german settlers to silesia. He persue the prussian Baltic Language ending in his extinction. After the annexation of Royal Prussia he started the clean work.

[@ryanjuguilon213]

You dont know what you are talking about. The germanization of Silesia and Vistula basin was well under way at that point. It was the Poliah dukes of Piast Dynasty that invited German settlers into Silesia and greater Poland. Those policies were continued by the Bohemians when they gain sovereignty over Silesia. Economics were the eeason as kings only cared about taxing the peasants, and in general the germans are more productive as merchants and agriculturalist. The Vistula delta wes already being settled by German merchants and colonist, especially dur8ng the Hamseatic period when most of the Prussian cities were members. In fact during Prussian rebellion against the Teutonic Order it was the German settles who asked for protection from the Polish KiNgs. At that time period kings dont care about ethnicity of their subjects, only about powet and taxes

[@NeoMicy]

DOnt forget that he convinced Katherina the Great (A prussian Princess at that time) to marry Peter!

[@gilgabro420]

why do you use gradients as backgrounds? It hurts my eyes!

[@lokchucklindryfry94]

Moral of the story is to be yourself because you will have fan boys who will save your ass later