ABSTRACT
When Elector George William (1619-40) succeeded John Sigismund in 1619 he was just as wary as his father of becoming embroiled in the Bohemian crisis. Earlier that year the Bohemian Estates had elected Frederick V of the Palatinate as their king, in defiance of the Habsburg claimant. Although the new Elector of Brandenburg had a certain amount in common with the Elector Palatine-they were brothers-in-law and Calvinists-George William was cautious by nature, and with limited resources and few troops at his disposal he was reluctant to commit himself to Frederick’s cause. Instead, he turned for moral support to his neighbour, the Protestant Elector of Saxony; it was the first step in a long-term dependency on that state.
