ABSTRACT
During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, that course more often than not resembled a rollercoaster ride, with peaks and troughs that saw Prussia alternately rise to a dominant position in Europe, then come hurding back down as it was reduced to a second-rate German power. There was little danger of that occurring with the French revolutionary governments, which on the whole respected North German neutrality. Things changed considerably, however, with the advent of Napoleon, who was prepared to strike at Britain wherever and whenever possible. Frederick William II moved slowly towards military action, but once he had started, there was no holding him back. The success in Holland inflated his sorry ego and encouraged him to seek further opportunities in the quest for territorial gain and military glory. As Frederick William II's chaotic search for aggrandizement was linked in part to his character, so, too, neutrality seemed to suit Frederick William Ill's natural disposition.
