Historical Characters, Including Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 46

[cahn]

Background: The kids' school has a topic for "Unit" every trimester that a lot of their work (reading, writing, some math) revolves around. These topics range from time/geographic periods ('Colonial America') to geography ('Asia') to science ('Space') to social science ('Business and Economics'). (I have some issues with this way of doing things, but that's a whole separate post.) Anyway, for Reasons, they have had to come up with a new topic this year, and E's 7/8 class is doing "World Fairs" as their new topic.

Me: I know E's teacher is all about World Fairs and I know she is great and will do a good job. But I feel like if we had a different teacher who wasn't so into World Fairs, they wouldn't do such a good job and another topic would be better.
Me: Like... the Enlightenment!
D: Heh, you could teach that! But you'd have to restrain yourself from making everything about Frederick the Great.
Me: But that's the thing! Everyone does relate to each other in this time period! Voltaire -- and his partner Émilie du Châtelet, who was heavily involved in the discourse of conservation of energy and momentum -- well, I've told you Voltaire had a thing with Fritz -- and then there's Empress Maria Theresa, who went to war with him a few times -- and Catherine the Great --
D, meditatively: You know --
Me: *am innocently not warned even though this is the same tone of voice that is often followed by, say, a bad pun*
D: -- it's impressive how everyone from this 'the Great' family is so famous!
Me: *splutters*
D, thoughtfully: But of course there's probably selection bias, as the ones who aren't famous don't get mentioned. You never see 'Bob the Great' in the history books...
Me: *splutters more*

Comments

Re: Løvenørn letters: Sep 6, 1730; Sep 14, 1730

[mildred_of_midgard]

Right! And sadly there is no mention, not by Hervey or another memoirist, how G2 responded if and when that bit of news was finally delivered.

Haha! Well, who knows, we might someday run across it!

if SD ever had managed to have FW declared mentally incapacitated a la G3, with, depending on Fritz' age at the time, either herself or Fritz as Regent, how would that have worked out?

Good question! If we're talking post-EC, then we're in the period of the War of the Polish Succession, and Fritz was *way* too interested in that to pass up an opportunity to invade if one came along. In fact, I say "Watch me, Dad!" would have been an even bigger incentive for a glory-winning invasion spree.

If we're talking when the conspiracy actually happened, when he was circa 14, and before Katte and Küstrin, in the days of the death shroud, we might have gotten a return to F1 days, thus causing FW to grind his teeth in impotent rage at the very outcome he had feared. *Eventually* Fritz might have ended up on a invasion spree for glory, since "king = military = glory" was so much in the water at the time I refuse to believe it was just Küstrin that created Fritz, but probably not immediately (certainly not with SD in charge).

Marriage: I think he marries the Hanover cousin if he's young enough. This is the guy who was willing to write "I won't marry anyone but your daughter" to Caroline. Admittedly to escape Dad, but these are still his "trying to please Mom" and "questioning my sexuality" days.

If he's old enough, yeah, I think he still tries to get out of getting married. A 14-yo who can still be bossed around by Mom is not the same as headstrong 20-something Fritz.