ABSTRACT
In this pamphlet Margaret Shennan surveys the rise of Prussia from the early seventeenth century to 1740, highlighting and evaluating the role of its rulers, in particular of Frederick William I, the Great Elector, and his two successors. The author takes account of:
* international relations
* social and economic structures
* domestic pressures
* ethical and cultural influences
* idiosyncratic personalities
* terrain and boundaries.
