Frederick William II

Frederick William II (1744-1797), king of Prussia (1786-1797), grandson of Frederick William I and nephew of Frederick II, born in Berlin. He succeeded to the throne in 1786 upon the death of his uncle. In 1792 he made an alliance with Leopold II, Holy Roman emperor, to support Louis XVI of France in the French Revolution. As a result of Frederick's participation in the ensuing wars, he was forced in 1795 by the Treaty of Basel to cede to France Prussian territories west of the Rhine River. He secured territory from Poland, however, by participating in the Polish partitions of 1793 and 1795. Influenced during his reign by the Rosicrucian order, of which he was a member, he suppressed the ideas of the Enlightenment, imposing censorship on religion, education, and the press. He lacked interest in military affairs and allowed a supreme college of war to supervise the army, which declined markedly during his reign. Through his own ineptitude and that of the favorites he appointed to administrative positions, the treasury of Prussia was bankrupted and the reputation of the country diminished by the end of his reign.