- George William, Elector of Brandenburg
George William ( _de. Georg Wilhelm) (
13 November 1595 –December 1 1640 ) of theHohenzollern dynasty wasmargrave and elector ofBrandenburg and duke of Prussia (1619-1640). His reign was marked by ineffective governance during theThirty Years' War .Biography
Early life
Born in
Cölln on theSpree , George William was the son of Margrave John Sigismund andAnna of Prussia . His maternal grandfather wasAlbert Frederick, Duke of Prussia .In 1616 George William married Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate. Their only son Frederick William later became 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 (or Hesse-Cassel).Rule
In 1619 George William inherited the
Margravate of Brandenburg and theDuchy of Prussia . During theThirty Years' War , he tried to remain neutral between theRoman Catholic forces of theHoly Roman Empire and the Protestant principalities. As his sisterMaria Eleonora of Brandenburg was queen of Sweden, George William had to maneuver between requests of assistance from his Protestant brother-in-law KingGustavus Adolphus of Sweden and his own Protestant counsellors on one side and his Catholic chancellor CountAdam von Schwarzenberg on the other.Despite his attempts at neutrality, he was forced by Gustavus Adolphus to join the Protestant forces in 1631. His rule was largely weak and ineffective however, as much of
Brandenburg-Prussia 's government responsibilities were left with Schwarzenberg as the country suffered greatly during the war. Protestant and Catholic troops alike burned and plundered the region and the population was decimated there as it was throughout theGerman states during that conflict.With his brother-in-law Gustavus dead (1632), Goorge William stayed with the Swedish alliance until after the Swedish defeat at the
Battle of Nordlingen onSeptember 6 1634 . George William withdrew Brandenburg from the war and signed the Peace of Prague with Emperor Ferdinand II onMay 30 1635 . Leaving Schwarzenberg in charge of the government, George William retreated in 1637 to the relatively safe region of the Duchy of Prussia where he lived in retirement until his death atKönigsberg in 1640. He was succeeded by his son, Frederick William.Legacy
His great-great-grandson
Frederick II the Great later wrote about him, that this was the unluckiest time, it is a shame that Georg Wilhelm did not put up an army, before the combatants of the Thirty Years War destroyed the land, where the ravages can still be witnessed so many years later.Ancestors
References
*Wedgwood, Cicely V. "The Thirty Years War", New York, 1961.
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