Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, transformed his lands from the decimated ruin at the end of the Thirty Years War to one of the most powerful states in the Holy Roman Empire. As you may remember the Holy Roman Empire (HRE) was comprised of many smaller states and districts ruled over by local princes, with the Holy Roman Emperor overseeing them all, though to be emperor was mostly a title. Frederick William inherited his lands in 1640, with a very depleted population and lands ravaged by the Thirty Years War. His greatest ambition was to build a Prussian standing army in order to maintain power and to defend Prussia from Sweden. To raise money for this expensive endeavor he made a deal with the local lower nobility that controlled taxes, that if they would raise taxes he would let them reduce the population essentially to serfdom. Another one of his policies was that he extended religious toleration to his people and invited the expelled French Huguenots to settle in Prussia and in turn boost the economy with their valuable skills. He successfully rebuilt his lands and through diplomacy and his powerful military became a prominent and powerful ruler in Europe.
Peter the Great ruled Russia from 1682 – 1725. Things you might not know about him is that he forced some women he did not like into convents (including his wife) and died of gangrene in his bladder. But what he is known for is modernizing Russia, in particular the Russian army. In 1700 the Russians suffered a humiliating defeat when eight-thousand Swedes conquered forty-thousand Russians, which spurred on his zeal for reform. He created a standing army and gave high salaries for foreign military officers to come to Russia and lead and train his army. He conscripted peasants from the countryside to come work in factories that created machinery for his army, which started the slow process of Russian industrialization. In addition to a modernized military, he ordered that everyone adopt a western style of dress with taxes being put on beards and long hair for men. By the end of his life, many people wondered why he had not yet been killed as he had alienated many people in his sweeping modernization reforms. Though he is still debated by historians today, there is no denying that he changed Russia and brought it reluctantly into the modern age.
Art during this time had also changed. With the end of the Renaissance in 1527, artists moving forward wondered what they could do, since it seemed impossible to do better than the masters of the Renaissance. From this, a style we call Mannerism developed, playing on an individual’s personal strengths in painting. Characteristics include abnormally proportioned or elongated figures, clashing colors, and sometimes bizarre themes. Realistic portrayal of their subjects and landscapes was not a necessity in this style. Mannerism lasted about eighty years to the end of the 16th century. Baroque painting developed at the beginning of the 17th century and continued through the early 18th century. Baroque painting is identified by its intense emotion and drama, rich, deep color, and contrasting light and shadow. Among the most famous Baroque painters are Reubens, Vermeer, Velazquez, Caravaggio, and Rembrandt.