William I, German Emperor

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William I , or in German Wilhelm I. (full name: William Frederick Louis of Hohenzollern , German:

Video William I, German Emperor

Early life and military career

The future king and emperor was born William Frederick Louis of Prussia (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig von PreuÃÆ'Ÿen ) at Kronprinzenpalais in Berlin on March 22, 1797. As the second son of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Prince Frederick William, King Frederick William II, William is not expected to ascend the throne. His grandfather died the year he was born, at the age of 53, in 1797, and his father Frederick William III became king. He was educated from 1801 to 1809 by Johann Friedrich Gottlieb DelbrÃÆ'¼ck, who was also in charge of the education of William's brother, Crown Prince Frederick William. At the age of twelve, his father appointed him an officer in the Prussian army.

William served in the army from 1814 onwards. Like his father he fought against Napoleon I of France during the part of the Napoleonic War known in Germany as Befreiungskriege ("War of Liberation", otherwise known as the Sixth Coalition War), and reportedly a very brave warrior. He was made captain ( Hauptmann ) and won Iron Cross for his action at Bar-sur-Aube. War and struggle against France left a lifelong impression on him, and he had an antipathy attitude towards France.

In 1815, William was promoted to major and ordered a battalion of Gardener's . He fought under Gebhard Leberecht von BlÃÆ'¼cher at the Battle of Ligny and Waterloo. He became a diplomat, involved in a diplomatic mission after 1815.

In 1816, William became commander of Stettiner Gardelandwehrbataillon and in 1818 was promoted to Generalmajor . The following year, William was appointed VII inspector. and VIII. Army Corps. This made him a spokesman for the Prussian Army in the Hohenzollern House. He argued in favor of strong, well-trained and well-equipped troops. In 1820, William became commander of 1. Gardedivision and in 1825 was promoted to commander general III. Army Corps.

In 1826 William was forced to abandon his relationship with Elisha Radziwill, his cousin whom he was interested in, when it was regarded as an inappropriate match by his father. It is said that Elisha had an illegitimate son by William who was raised by Joseph and Caroline Kroll, owner of Kroll Opera House in Berlin, and was named Agnes Kroll. He married Carl Friedrich Ludwig Dettman (known as "Louis") and emigrated to Sydney, Australia, in 1849. They had a family of three sons and two daughters. Agnes died in 1904.

In 1829, William Princess Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach married Grand Duke Karl Friedrich of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Their marriage is far from stable, but not a very happy one.

In 1840, his older brother became King of Prussia. Since he had no children, William was first in order to succeed him as king and thus was given the title of Prinz von PreuÃÆ'Ÿen . Against his convictions but due to his loyalty to his brother, in 1847 William signed a bill governing the Prussian parliament (Vereinigter Landtag ) and took a seat in the upper chamber, .

During the Revolution of 1848, William succeeded in destroying the Berlin insurrection directed against Frederick William IV. The use of the cannon made him unpopular at the time and earned him the nickname KartÃÆ'¤tschenprinz (Prince of Grapeshot). Indeed, he had to flee to England for a while, posing as a merchant. He returned and helped put down the rebellion in Baden, where he ordered the Prussian army. In October 1849, he became governor of the Rhineland and Westfalia generals, with seats at the KurfÃÆ'¼rstliches Schloss in Koblenz.

During their time in Koblenz, William and his wife entertained liberal scholars such as historian Maximilian Wolfgang Duncker, August von Bethmann-Hollweg and Clemens Theodor Perthes. William's opposition to liberal ideas slowly softened.

In 1854, the prince was appointed to the rank of governor of the marshal and federal ruler of Mainz. In 1857 Frederick William IV suffered a stroke and became mentally disabled for the rest of his life. In January 1858, William became the Bupati's Prince for his brother, initially only temporarily but after October permanently. Against his brother's suggestion, William vowed at the Prussian constitution office and promised to preserve it "solid and inviolable". William appointed a liberal, Karl Anton von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, as President of the Minister and thus initiated what is known as the "New Era" in Prussia, despite the conflict between William and the liberal majority in Landtag in terms of reforming the armed forces..

Maps William I, German Emperor

King

On January 2, 1861, Frederick William died and William ascended the throne as William I of Prussia. In July, a student from Leipzig tried to kill William, but he was only slightly injured. Like Frederick I of Prussia, William went to KÃÆ'¶nigsberg and there crowned himself at the Schlosskirche. William chose the anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig, October 18, for this event, which was the first Prussian crowning ceremony since 1701 and the only crown of the king of Germany in the 19th century. William refused to obey the wishes of his brother, expressed in the last will of Frederick William, that he should abrogate the constitution.

William inherited the conflict between Frederick William and the liberal Landtag. He was considered politically neutral because he had less interference in politics than his brother. In 1862 Landtag rejected the increased military budget needed to pay for the reforms that had been carried out by the army. This involves increasing peacetime armies from 150,000 to 200,000 people and increasing the annual number of new members from 40,000 to 63,000. However, the really controversial part is the plan to keep the duration of military service (raised in 1856 out of two years) at three years. When his request, backed by Minister of War Albrecht von Roon was rejected, William first considered releasing him, but his son, Crown Prince, strongly opposed him. Then, at Roon's suggestion, William appointed Otto von Bismarck to the office of the Minister of the Presidency to force through the proposal. According to the Prussian Constitution, the President's Minister is fully responsible to the king, not to Landtag. Bismarck, a conservative Prussian Junker and a loyal friend of the king, is pleased to see his relationship with William as a feudal subordinate slave. Nevertheless, it is Bismarck who effectively directs politics, domestic as well as foreign; on some occasions he obtained William's approval by threatening to resign.

During his reign William was the supreme commander of the Prussian army in the Second Schleswig War against Denmark in 1864 and the Austro-Prussian War in 1866. After the latter was won by Prussia, William wanted to march to Vienna and the Austrian annex but Bismarck and Crown Prince Frederick persuaded him out from there. Bismarck wanted to end the war quickly, allowing Prussia to ally with Austria if necessary later on; Frederick was also shocked by the casualties and eager to end the hostilities. During the hot discussions Bismarck threatened to resign if William went on to Vienna; Bismarck succeeded.

In 1867, the North German Confederation was formed, as a federation (federally organized state) of the countries of North Germany and Central Germany. William became the bearer of the BundesprÃÆ'¤sidium , the federal presidium. Not expressis verbis , but in its function he is the head of state. Bismarck deliberately avoided titles like PrÃÆ'¤sident because it sounded too republican. William became also constitutional Bundesfeldherr , commander of all federal armed forces. Through an agreement with the countries of Southern Germany, he became the commander and also their troops in the case of war. In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, William led all the German troops at the crucial Battle of the Sedan.

The German Emperor

During the Franco-Prussian War, the countries of South Germany joined the North German Confederation. The country changed its name to Deutsches Reich (German Empire), and the title BundesprÃÆ'¤sidium was changed under the title Deutscher Kaiser (German Emperor)). It was decided by the legislative organs, the Reichstag and the Bundesrat, and William agreed to this on December 18 in the presence of the Reichstag delegation. The new Constitution and Emperor's title came into force on 1 January 1871.

William, however, was hesitant to accept a constitutional degree, for he feared that it would overshadow the title of Prussia's own king. He also wanted to become Kaiser von Deutschland ("German Emperor"), but Bismarck warned him that the prince of South Germany and the Emperor of Austria might protest. William eventually - though reluctantly - relented, and on January 18, in the Mirror Hall at the Palace of Versailles, he proclaimed Kaiser Wilhelm . The date was chosen as the date of the coronation of the first Prussian king in 1701. In national memory, January 18 became the empire's basic day ( ReichsgrÃÆ'¼ndungstag ), although it did not have a constitution of meaning.

In 1872, he brokered a boundary dispute between Britain and the United States, decided to support the United States and put the San Juan Islands State of Washington State within the national territory of the US, ending a bloodless Pig War for 12 years.

In his memoirs, Bismarck describes William as an old man, polite, disrespectful, and a true Prussian officer, whose common sense is sometimes belittled by "female influence". This is a reference to William's wife, who has been educated by, among others Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and is intellectually superior to her husband. He is also sometimes very vocal in his opposition to official policy because he is liberal. William, however, has long vehemently opposed liberal ideas. Despite having considerable strength as Kaiser, William left the task of organizing a large part of his chancellor and restricting himself to representation, realizing the dignity of the state and approving Bismarck's policies.

Attempts to kill and Anti-Socialist laws

On May 11, 1878, a plumber named Emil Max HÃÆ'¶del failed in an attempt to assassinate William in Berlin. HÃÆ'¶del used a gun to shoot the 81-year-old Emperor while he and his daughter, Princess Louise, paraded in their carriage at Unter den Linden . When the bullet escaped, HÃÆ'¶del ran across the street and fired another round that was also missed. In the fray one of the individuals who tried to capture HÃÆ'¶del suffered severe internal injuries and died two days later. HÃÆ'¶del was arrested immediately. He was tried, sentenced, sentenced to death, and executed on August 16, 1878.

The second attempt to kill William I was made on June 2, 1878 by Dr. Karl Nobiling. As the Emperor drove past an open carriage, the killer fired two shots from a shotgun at him from the window of a house of Unter den Linden. William was badly wounded and rushed back to the palace. Nobiling shot himself in a suicide attempt. While William survived the attack, the assassin died from his own injury three months later.

Despite the fact that HÃÆ'¶del was expelled from the Social Democratic Party, his actions were used as a pretext by Bismarck to ban the party through "Anti-Socialist Law" in October 1878. To do this, Bismarck partnered with Ludwig Bamberger, a Liberal, who had written on the subject of Socialism, "If I do not want chickens, then I have to destroy those eggs." No one in the Social-Democratic Party knows about Karl Nobiling, but that does not mean that he is not politically motivated. These efforts in William's life became the pretext for the Anti-Socialist Law institution, introduced by the Bismarck government with majority support in the Reichstag on 18 October 1878, for the purpose of fighting the socialist and working-class movement. This law revoked the German Social Democratic Party with its legal status; prohibit all organizations, mass organizations of workers and socialist press and workers; seizure of socialist literature; and made the Social-Democrats in retaliation. The law is extended every 2-3 years. Despite reprisals, the Social Democrats have increased their influence among the masses. Under pressure from the mass working class movement, the law was lifted on October 1, 1890.

The year later and death

In August 1878, Russian Tsar Alexander II, William's nephew, wrote a letter (known as Ohrfeigenbrief ) to him who complained about the treatment received by Russian interests in the Berlin Congress. In response, William, his son's crown prince and his wife Augusta went to Russia (against Bismarck's suggestion) to fix the fence in face-to-face talks. However, once again threatening to resign, Bismarck overcomes William's opposition to an alliance closer to Austria. In October, William agreed with Zweibund between Germany and Austria-Hungary that was directed against Russia.

Another murder attempt failed on 18 September 1883 when William launched the Niederwalddenkmal in RÃÆ'¼desheim. An anarchist group has set up an attack using dynamite that failed due to wet weather.

Despite his assassination efforts and William's unpopular role in the 1848 rebellion, he and his wife were very popular, especially in their final years. Many people think of them as personifying "Old Prussia" and like their simple and simple lifestyle. William died on March 9, 1888 in Berlin after a brief illness. He was buried on March 16 at the Mausoleum at Park Charlottenburg.

In his honor, a large number of memorials/statues were established throughout the country during the following years. The most famous of them are the KyffhÃÆ'¤user monument (1890-96) in Thuringia, the monument in Porta Westfalica (1896) and the William statue installed at Deutsches Eck in Koblenz (1897). The statue next to Stadtschloss, Berlin (1898) was merged by the East Berlin government in 1950.

From 1867 to 1918, more than 1,000 memorials for William I were built.

Problem

William and Augusta of Saxe-Weimar have two children: Frederick III, Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia (18 October 1831 - June 15, 1888) he married Victoria, Princess of the Kingdom on January 25, 1858. They had eight children.

Princess Louise of Prussia (December 3, 1838 - April 23, 1923) she married Prince Frederick of Baden on September 20, 1856. They had three children.

Religion

Emperor William I was a Lutheran member from the older Prussian State Evangelical Province. It is a United Protestant denomination, bringing together the Reformed and Lutheran people.

Title, style, honor and arm

Title and style

• March 22, 1797 - January 2, 1861 : His Royal Highness Prince William of Prussia
• January 2, 1861 - January 18, 1871 : Your Highness King of Prussia
• January 18, 1871 - March 9, 1888 : Imperial and Royal Majesty The German Emperor, King of Prussia

Full title as German Emperor

His First Empire and Majesty, by the Grace of God, the German Emperor and King of Prussia; Margrave of Brandenburg, Burgrave of Nuremberg, Count of Hohenzollern; Sovereign and Supreme Duke of Silesia and County of Glatz; Grand Duke of the Lower Rhine and Posen; Duke of Saxony, from Westphalia, from Angria, from Pommern, LÃÆ'¼neburg, Holstein and Schleswig, from Magdeburg, from Bremen, from Guelders, Cleves, JÃÆ'¼lich and Berg, Duke of the Wends and Kassubes, from Crossen, Lauenburg and Mecklenburg; Landgrave of Hesse and Thuringia; Margrave from Upper and Lower Lusatia; Prince of Orange; Prince of RÃÆ'¼gen, from East Friesland, from Paderborn and Pyrmont, from Halberstadt, MÃÆ'¼nster, Minden, OsnabrÃÆ'¼ck, Hildesheim, from Verden, Cammin, Fulda, Nassau and Moers; Henneberg Count; Count of Mark, Ravensberg, Hohenstein, Tecklenburg and Lingen, from Mansfeld, Sigmaringen and Veringen; Mr. from Frankfurt.

Awards

German decor

• The Kingdom of Prussia:
  • Sovereign of the Order of the Black Eagle
  • Sovereign of the Red Cross Order
  • Sovereign from the Order of the Royal House Hohenzollern
  • Sovereign of the Order of Crown (Prussia)
  • Sovereign of the Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg)
  • Pour le MÃÆ' Â © rite
  • The Great Cross of the Iron Cross
• The Kingdom of Bavaria: Knight Grand Cross from Max Joseph Military Order
• Ã, The Kingdom of Saxony: Knight Grand Cross of St. Military Order Henry
• Ã, Grand Duchy of Hesse: The Knight Grand Cross from Ludwig Order

Foreign decor

Ancestor

See also

• The family tree of the kings of Germany
• List of people from Berlin

References

Further reading

• RÃÆ'¶hl John C. G. Young Wilhelm: Early Life Kaiser, 1859-1888 (1998) online
• Steinberg, Jonathan. Bismarck: A Life (2011)
• Wilhelm Treue (Hrsg.): Drei deutsche Kaiser. Wilhelm I. - FriedrichÃ, III. -WilhelmÃ, II.; ihr Leben und ihre Zeit. . Ploetz, Freiburg [u.a, a.] 1987, ISBN 3-87640-192-5.
• Dieter Leuthold (Hrsg.): Ein Bremer ,, rettet "by Kaiser Die Flucht des Prinzen Wilhelm im Jahre 1848 aus Berlin, nach den Erinnerungen von August Oelrichs. Hauschild Verlag, Bremen 1998.
• Guntram Schulze-Wegener: Wilhelm I. Deutscher Kaiser, KÃÆ'¶nig von PreuÃÆ'Ÿen, Nationaler Mythos. Mittler, Hamburg 2015, ISBNÃ, 978-3-8132-0964-8.
• Christian Schwochert: Kaiser Wilhelm I , Berlin 2015, ISBN 978-1-5118-8283-5

External links

• Archontology.org - William I
• Web page from the Hohenzollern House (in German)
• Works by or about William I, the German Emperor in the library (WorldCat catalog)
• Text on Wikisource:
  • Carl Schurz, Kaiser Wilhelm I, 1888

Source of the article : Wikipedia