The kingdom of Poland and its defective constitution.
Frederick was able during his reign greatly to strengthen his kingdom by adding to it the Polish regions which had hitherto divided his possessions in Brandenburg from those which lay across the Vistula. The kingdom of Poland, which in its declining years was to cause western Europe much trouble, was shut in between Russia, Austria, and Prussia. The Slavic population of this region had come under an able ruler about the year 1000, and the Polish kings had succeeded for a time in extending their power over a large portion of Russia, Moravia, and the Baltic regions. They had never been able, however, to establish a successful form of government. This was largely due to the fact that the kings were elected by the nobles, the crown not passing from father to son, as in the neighboring kingdoms. The elections were tumultuous affairs, and foreigners were frequently chosen. Moreover, each noble had the right to veto any law proposed in the diet, and consequently a single person might prevent the passage of even the most important measure. The anarchy which prevailed in Poland had become proverbial.
The first partition of Poland, 1772.
On the pretense that this disorderly country was a menace to their welfare, the neighboring powers, Russia, Austria, and Prussia, agreed to reduce the danger by each helping itself to a slice of the unfortunate kingdom. This amicable arrangement resulted in what is known as the first partition of Poland. It was succeeded by two others (1793 and 1795), by the last of which this ancient state was wiped from the map altogether.[362]
Achievements of Frederick the Great.
When Frederick died (1786) he left the state which had been intrusted to him by his father nearly doubled in size. He had rendered it illustrious by his military glory, and had vastly increased its resources by improving the condition of the people in the older portions of his territory and by establishing German colonies in the desolate regions of West Prussia, which he strove in this way to bind closely to the rest of the kingdom.
General Reading.—Tuttle, History of Prussia (4 vols., Houghton, Mifflin & Co., $8.25). Carlyle, Frederick the Great (3 vols., Chapman, $2.25). Longman, F.W., Frederick the Great (Charles Scribner's Sons, $1.00). Rambaud, History of Russia (2 vols., Coryell & Co., $2.00). For Peter the Great and his Age, Waliszewski, Life of Peter the Great (D. Appleton & Co., $2.00). For the Seven Years' War and France, Perkins, France under Louis XV (2 vols., Houghton, Mifflin & Co., $4.00).