Frederick the Great, discussion post 16

[cahn]

We have slowed down a lot, but are still (sporadically) going! And somehow filled up the last post while I wasn't looking!

...I was asked to start a new thread so that STDs could be discussed. Really! :D

Comments

Europe map

[mildred_of_midgard]

This one's for cahn. Sometime while 100% of my computer time was being eaten up by fic writing and betaing, and I was falling increasingly behind on comments (I'm slowly chipping away), I ran across a map that was basically what I'd been wanting to show you for a year now. It's a bit better than the ones I've shown you before.

This is 1740, right before Fritz invades, and it's worth looking at the differences between then and now.



Taken from Wikipedia.

Note the font and color on Finland. It's not an independent country; it's part of Sweden. And not all the Finns were happy with that.

Two years later, in 1742, there was a brief attempt to make it into an independent kingdom. A bunch of Finns wanted independence, and Elizaveta of Russia, who was currently occupying it during her war with Sweden, was toying with the idea of setting up a buffer state between her and Sweden, as part of the resolution of that war.

So a meeting of the Finnish Diet elected future (P)Russian Pete, who at this point is still HolsteinPete, only 14 years old, as the future king of Finland. The meeting was led by the commander of the Russian forces occupying Finland: none other than the James Keith, Scottish Jacobite in exile in Russia, who later joins Fritz, becomes Field Marshal, and dies at Hochkirch. And is later fanboyed by Mitchell's editor Bisset.

This effort fizzles out, though.

Elizaveta decides she'd rather have Peter for her own heir.

Simultaneously as part of the negotiations between Sweden and Russia, the Swedes decide they want Peter as the heir to their king.

Elizabeth has the biggest guns, so she gets HolsteinPete, who becomes (P)Russian Pete.

She gives Finland back to the Swedes, no more prospect of independence for them. No real independence until after the Russian Revolution in 1917/1918.

It was an exciting couple of months for 14-yo HolsteinPete!

Also note Lorraine, which is kinda in limbo in 1740. Remember that after the War of the Polish Succession, Stanislaw II Leszczynski of Poland, father of Louis XV's wife Marie Leszczynska, had to give up Poland. He got Lorraine in return, which was given up by FS, MT's husband, in return for France's recognition of the Pragmatic Sanction and FS as future Holy Roman Emperor.

So in 1740, Lorraine has a ruling duke living there, Stanislaw (whom Voltaire and Émilie will hang out with), and an honorary duke living in Vienna, FS, now part of the house of Habsburg-Lorraine. But as part of the 1737 treaty, the idea was that Stanislaw, after he died, would pass on Lorraine to the kingdom of France, through his daughter Marie, since he had no sons. So France is kinda considering Lorraine its own already, though it won't officially annex it until 1766, when Stanislaw dies. So the red line designating the HRE in the 1740 map still includes Lorraine.

Note the little purple spot on the Dutch border. That's Cleves, owned by Prussia, where Wesel is located and where Peter Keith escaped to the Netherlands from. And from where Fritz was sent back to Brandenburg under very close guard with orders to avoid any Hanover-controlled territory (you can see how very precisely they had to thread a needle there) and to kill him if any rescue attempts were made en route.

Notice also Saxony, Silesia, Bohemia, and Moravia, where almost all the Silesian War action takes place.

Notice also why Fritz was so interested in getting Ottoman military support during the Seven Years' War. (He failed.)

Re: Europe map

[cahn]

Ahhhh, thank you!

Note the font and color on Finland.

Me: Uh, I can't even find where it says Finland! I don't see it in bold font -- oh.