The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume III / Being the Observations He Made in His Late Travels from Prussia thro' Germany, Italy, France, Flanders, Holland, England, &C. in Letters to His Friend. Discovering Not Only the Present State of the Chief Cities and Towns; but the Characters of the Principal Persons at the Several Courts.

by Freiherr von Karl Ludwig Pöllnitz

to impart to the Emperor the Scheme which he had form'd to erect Prussia into a Kingdom.

Prussia, which is a Province detach'd from Poland, formerly belong'd to the Lithuanians, from whom it was conquer'd by the Teutonic Order. Albert Margrave of Brandenburg, the Grand Master of the said Order, who had marry'd Dorothy, Daughter of Frederic I. King of Denmark, took it from those Knights in 1511, and made himself Master of it. This engag'd him in a War with Sigismond I. King of Poland, his Uncle by the Mother's side, who had Pretensions upon the said Province; which War continu'd five Years, till it was concluded by a Treaty, whereby it was stipulated, That the Eastern Prussia shou'd remain hereditary with the Title of a Duchy to Albert, who, together with his Descendants shou'd perform Allegiance and Homage for it to the King and Republic of Poland, to which it was to revert on the failure of Issue Male in the Family of Albert.

The Emperor Charles V. oppos'd this Transaction, by pretending that Prussia was a Fief of the Empire; and that therefore Sigismond had no Right to dispose of it. The Imperial Decree which was pass'd upon this Occasion, had however no Effect, by reason of the Wars which the Emperor was at that time engag'd in, and Albert remain'd in peaceable Possession of Prussia. He was succeeded by his only Son Albert-Frederic, who receiv'd the Investiture of it from the King of Poland, for himself and his Cousin-Germans in 1569. This Prince dying without Issue, John Sigismond Elector of Brandenburg succeeded him, and again receiv'd the Investiture of it from the King of Poland, for himself and his three Brothers. Since that time the Duchy

of Prussia has always been in the Brandenburg Family from Father to Son; but the Elector Frederic-William the Great, having made War upon Charles-Gustavus King of Sweden, in favour of the Crown and Republic of Poland, the Sovereignty of Prussia was, in Acknowledgment thereof, yielded to him, for himself and all his Male Descendants, by the Treaty of Bydgost in 1659.

By virtue of this Treaty, the Elector claim'd that Prussia depended on no other Power; and that he held it immediately by Divine Right; and upon this Plea he thought himself authoriz'd to be declar'd King. But before he took this Step, it was necessary to secure the Consent of a Part, at least, of the Princes of the Empire. As the Emperor's Consent was not only the most important, but the most difficult to obtain, the whole stress of the Negociation lay almost at the Court of Vienna.

When Dankelman arriv'd there, he did not find the Court in a Temper to grant it. The august Title of a King conferr'd upon an Elector, was at first thought to be prejudicial to the Imperial Authority, and it was look'd upon as exposing of that Dignity, to acquiesce in the Elector's Demand before they had at least felt the Pulses of the Generality of the Princes of Europe, and especially those of the Empire. 'Twas but reasonable to imagine the Pope would oppose it strenuously upon the score of the Protestant Religion, which by the Elector's Advancement might gather fresh Strength. All Kings in general were interested not to suffer an Instance which had a seeming Tendency to authorize every Prince to take the same Step, on the single Pretence of being possess'd of a Bit of Land, and

holding it of no Power but God. But the Persons from whom the greatest Objections were expected, were the Electors; and indeed they had reason to fear, 1. That when the Elector of Brandenburg came to be a King, he wou'd no longer look upon them as his Equals, but wou'd claim certain Distinctions from them in the Empire and in the Dyets. 2. That he would withdraw the Dominions of his Electorate from the Obedience of the Empire, and from the Laws to which all the other Electors were subject. This Article was of the utmost consequence to them, especially with regard to the Contingent they are oblig'd to furnish towards Wars which concern the Empire, and which are the more burthensome, the fewer Heads they fall upon.

These being then the Notions of the Court of Vienna, Dankelman had no great Hopes of succeeding in his Negociation. Nevertheless the Court always took care to keep fair with the Elector, whom they look'd upon as an Ally that was well worth preserving; and perhaps they flatter'd themselves they should get more by Promises and Expectations than by granting him his Demand.

The Death of John Sobieski King of Poland, which happen'd on the 17th of June 1696, was another Inducement to the Emperor to pursue the same Politics. The Elector of Brandenburg by having Prussia in his Neighbourhood, might be of great Weight in the Election of a new King of Poland; and the Emperor who had a Design to advance the Margrave Lewis of Baden to the Throne, pretended to enter into the Views of the Elector, that this Prince might afterwards fall in with his at the Dyet of Election. For this end the Emperor's Ministers gave Dankelman to

understand, that the first thing to be done was to clear the Difficulties which the several Powers of Europe might raise against the Elector's Project; and that the Congress of Ryswic, at which all the Ministers were to be present, was the most favourable Opportunity.