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Treaty of Königsberg
	Königsberg Castle
Type	Legal status of the Duchy of Prussia
Signed	17 January 1656
Location	Königsberg castle (now Kaliningrad)
Signatories	Charles X Gustav of Sweden; Frederick William I of Brandenburg;
Parties	Swedish Empire; House of Hohenzollern;
Language	Latin

The Treaty of Königsberg was concluded on 7 January (O.S.) / 17 January (N.S.) 1656 during the Second Northern War.^[1] Frederick William I, the "Great Elector" of Brandenburg and duke of Prussia, was forced to join the Swedish camp and became a Swedish vassal for the Duchy of Prussia and Ermland (Ermeland, Warmia).^[2] In a second treaty, negotiated on 24 February 1656 in Königsberg (Królewiec), Frederick William I concluded a defensive alliance with France.^[3]

Background

In 1655, the rapid progress of the Swedish campaign in Poland–Lithuania made Brandenburgian elector Frederick William I worried about his Duchy of Prussia,^[4] which he held as a Polish fief.^[2] Frederick William I, who maintained an army of 14,000 men in Brandenburg,^[1] marched his army to Prussia^[4] and in the Treaty of Rinsk of 12 November concluded a defensive alliance with the Royal Prussian nobility, who maintained an army consisting of 600 troops raised by the Prussian estates and a levy of 3,000 to 4,000 men.^[1] In addition, 3,600 troops of the regular army and mercenaries were stationed in Royal Prussia.^[1]

Charles X Gustav had meanwhile conquered nearly all of Poland and exiled the Polish king John II Casimir Vasa.^[1] From occupied Kraków, he turned northwards in October^[5] to subdue Royal Prussia, where he intended to establish a Swedish province.^[4] By December, all of Royal Prussia was occupied by Sweden^[4] except for Danzig (Gdańsk), which resisted throughout the war, and Marienburg (Malbork), which only fell in March 1656.^[1] Thorn (Toruń) and Elbing (Elbląg) had not participated in the alliance of Rinsk and surrendered to Sweden already in November.^[1] Now Charles X Gustav turned eastwards and marched his troops into Ducal Prussia, following the withdrawing army of Frederick William I.^[4] While field marshal Count Georg Friedrich von Waldeck urged the "Great Elector" to confront the Swedish forces, the latter chose not to fight and accept the Swedish terms in January.^[6]

Treaty between Brandenburg-Prussia and Sweden

Frederick William I took the Duchy of Prussia as a fief from Charles X Gustav, and had to provide him with troops.^[2] Without Swedish permission, the Electorate of Brandenburg would not maintain a navy in the Baltic Sea.^[2] In return, Frederick William I received Ermland.^[2]

In article XVII, the Lutheran Swedish king further obliged the Calvinist elector to grant religious freedom to the Lutherans in Prussia.^[7]

Treaty between Brandenburg-Prussia and France

The Franco-Prussian treaty included a defensive alliance between the parties.^[3] Drafted on 24 February, it was ratified on 12 April by Louis in Paris and on 24 October by Frederick William in Königsberg.^[3]

Consequences

The treaty of Königsberg was followed by the Treaty of Marienburg on 25 June, when the tide of the war had turned against Sweden and Brandenburg-Prussia advanced to the position of a Swedish ally.^[8]

Frederick William I of Brandenburg-Prussia (left) and Charles X Gustav of Sweden (right)

Still a vassal of Charles X Gustav for Prussia,^[2] Frederick William I entered the war and the combined Swedish-Brandenburgian forces defeated the Polish army in the Battle of Warsaw in July.^[9] This made the Polish king John II Casimir Vasa, from whom Frederick William I had to take Prussia as a fief prior to Königsberg, say that once the Tartars had the Swedes for breakfeast, he would arrest the elector "where neither sun nor moon will shine".^[2] In August, John II Casimir had Wincenty Korwin Gosiewski invade Prussia to "punish Frederick William for his treachery".^[10] Thirteen towns and 250 villages were burned until Gosiewski was expelled in October, and the campaign was terrifying enough to persist in local folklore until the 20th century.^[11]

Hard-pressed himself by several countries entering the war against him, Charles X Gustav in January 1656 agreed with Frederick William I on the Treaty of Labiau, which altered the terms of Königsberg in a way that the Hohenzollern electors were freed of Swedish vassalage for the Prussian duchy at the cost of Ermland and a more active participation in the war.^[12] In the subsequent treaties of Wehlau and Bromberg, John II Casimir confirmed Frederick William I's sovereignty in Prussia after the latter abandoned Sweden in the war.^[13]

Sources

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Frost (2000), p. 171
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Press (1991), p. 402
^ ^a ^b ^c von Moerner (1965), p. 201
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Press (1991), p. 401
^ Frost (2000), p. 172
^ Press (1991), pp. 401-402
^ Evans (1997), p. 54
^ Frost (2000), p. 173
^ Frost (2000), pp. 173-174
^ Frost (2000), p. 177
^ Frost (2000), p. 178
^ Press (1991), pp. 402-403
^ Press (1991), p. 403

Bibliography

Evans, Malcolm (1997). Religious liberty and international law in Europe. Cambridge studies in international and comparative law. Vol. 6. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-55021-1.
Frost, Robert I (2000). The Northern Wars. War, State and Society in Northeastern Europe 1558-1721. Harlow: Longman. ISBN 978-0-582-06429-4.
von Moerner, Theodor, ed. (1965). Königlich Geheimes Staatsarchiv. Kurbrandenburgs Staatsverträge von 1601-1700 (in German). de Gruyter.
Press, Volker (1991). Kriege und Krisen. Deutschland 1600-1715. Neue deutsche Geschichte (in German). Vol. 5. Munich: Beck. ISBN 3-406-30817-1.