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The Kingdom of Prussia [a] (German: Königreich Preußen, pronounced [ˈkøːnɪkʁaɪç ˈpʁɔʏsn̩] ⓘ) constituted the German state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. [5] It was the driving force behind the unification of Germany in 1866 and was the leading state of the German Empire until its dissolution in 1918. [5]
The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order , a Roman Catholic crusader state and theocracy located along the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea .
On 18 January 1701, Frederick William's son, Elector Frederick III, elevated Prussia from a duchy to a kingdom and crowned himself King Frederick I. In the Crown Treaty of 16 November 1700, Leopold I, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, allowed Frederick only to title himself "King in Prussia", not "King of Prussia". The state of Brandenburg ...
Brandenburg-Prussia tried to claim Crab Island in 1687, but the island was also claimed by other European powers beforehand, and when a second expedition in 1692 found the island under Danish control, the plan was abandoned. [90] In 1689, Brandenburg-Prussia claimed Peter Island, but the small rock proved unsuitable for trade or settlement. [91]
After the Austro-Prussian War, Prussia led the Northern states into a federal state called the North German Confederation (1867–1870). The Southern states joined the federal state in 1870/71, which was consequently renamed the German Empire (1871–1918).
Frederick persuaded Emperor Leopold I to allow Prussia to be elevated to a kingdom by the Crown Treaty of 16 November 1700. This agreement was ostensibly given in exchange for an alliance against King Louis XIV in the War of the Spanish Succession and the provision of 8,000 Prussian troops to Leopold's service.
In the Crown Treaty signed on 16 November 1700, Elector Frederick III had undertaken to provide a body of 8,000 men for the impending Spanish War of Succession for Emperor Leopold I. In return, the emperor promised that Frederick's future self-coronation as "King in Prussia" would be recognised across Europe and the Holy Roman Empire.
The personal union with the United Kingdom ended in 1837 on the accession of Queen Victoria because the semi-Salic succession laws in Hanover prevented a female from inheriting the throne if there was a male descendant. In the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Hanover was annexed by Prussia and became the Province of Hanover.