Prussian Pomerania in the 18th Century (1701–1713–1806)

In 1713, at the time of King Frederick William I’s accession to the throne, Brandenburg-Prussian Pomerania constituted one of the primary provinces of the Prussian state. It covered an area of approximately 370 square miles. Shortly after ascending the throne, the king joined the anti-Swedish coalition (Russia, Saxony, Denmark) in the ongoing Great Northern War (1700–1721). This move was intended to enable the capture of Stettin (Szczecin), the mouth of the Oder River, and the remainder of Pomerania, which had been ‘due’ to the Hohenzollern ruler since the succession treaty concluded with the Pomeranian dukes in 1529.

In the summer of 1713, Russian forces under Marshal Menshikov and the Saxon army began the siege of Swedish-held Stettin (Szczecin). Unable to defend the fortress, the Swedish commanders entered into an agreement with Menshikov on September 29th to place the city under sequestration by the Duke of Holstein until the end of the war. Simultaneously, the Russian commander concluded an agreement with King Frederick William I to replace the Duke of Holstein’s troops with the Prussian army—not only in Stettin but throughout Hither Pomerania up to the Peene River—until the conclusion of the conflict. On October 6, 1713, a detachment of 1,600 soldiers of Frederick William I entered Stettin. As a result, Prussia acquired not only Stettin but also a portion of the Swedish domain west of the city, including the islands of Usedom and Wollin, along with the towns of Anklam, Demmin, Ueckermünde, Pasewalk, and others. While the hostilities were still ongoing, the king ordered the incorporation of the occupied territory into Prussian Farther Pomerania. This was later confirmed by the Treaty of Stockholm on January 21, 1720, under which Prussia received from Sweden the entire mouth of the Oder River with the islands of Wollin and Usedom, as well as Stettin and Hither Pomerania up to the Peene River, in exchange for 2 million thalers paid to Stockholm. As a result of these actions, Prussian Pomerania increased its territory by 95 square miles (5,225 sq km). Between 1720 and 1815, the province covered 465 square miles (25,575 sq km).

The acquisition of a part of Swedish Pomerania, the so-called Old Hither Pomerania (Alt-Vorpommern), by Frederick William I coincided with the King’s efforts to consolidate the state in the spirit of absolutism. These measures included administrative reforms and the subordination of all aspects of economic, social, and political life to royal authority. Consequently, this led to the integration of provinces with diverse political statuses and legal traditions—such as Prussia, Pomerania, Brandenburg, the Neumark, Magdeburg, Minden, and Cleves—into a single state organism. These consolidation efforts also extended to Pomerania.

Frederick William I, often called the ‘Soldier King’ (Soldatenkönig), initiated a large-scale militarization of the province. A garrison was established in practically every town in Pomerania, usually housing one or two companies, while larger cities (Stettin, Stargard, Stolp, Kolberg) hosted regiments and other military units. Stettin, much like during the Swedish era, remained a fortress; its military potential was significantly expanded between 1720 and 1740 on the orders of the ‘Soldier King,’ including the construction of new ramparts and forts such as Fort Leopold, Fort Wilhelm, and Fort Prussia (Star Fort). To ensure a steady supply of recruits, the king introduced the Canton System in 1730, dividing the monarchy—including Pomerania—into recruitment districts, from which peasants were drafted into military service. Meanwhile, King Frederick William ordered the mass enrollment of young nobles into the cadet corps (the officer training system). The compulsory military service for both peasants and nobility served not only a military purpose but also acted as a form of indoctrination in the spirit of loyalty to the Hohenzollern monarchy. Over several decades of these processes, the Pomeranian nobility—initially largely critical of the Brandenburg Hohenzollerns—became the most loyal segment of their class to the dynasty within the entire Prussian monarchy, as demonstrated by the events of the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763).

Oto tłumaczenie Twojego tekstu na język angielski: “The aforementioned war took a heavy toll on the Pomeranian province, particularly its eastern part. Russian troops occupied many towns and besieged Kolberg (Kołobrzeg) three times (in 1758, 1760, and 1761), conducting a predatory economy in the occupied territories and treating them as a supply base for the army fighting Frederick II’s main forces in the Neumark (battles of Zorndorf and Kunersdorf). This resulted in severe economic and demographic losses. The latter were further exacerbated by the ‘blood tax’ paid by Pomeranian-born soldiers, primarily of peasant origin, and officers representing the local nobility.

“While introducing his reforms, the King did not dismantle the feudal social structure. The nobility remained the most privileged social class, holding a ‘monopoly’ on specific royal offices, officer commissions in the expanding army—the backbone of the Prussian state—and, above all, on the ownership of landed estates. A nobleman wielded full authority over the rural population residing on his estate, both on the manor farm (folwark) and in the villages belonging to him. He exercised police and judicial power over them (patrimonial jurisdiction), as well as economic control (peasants merely occupied their farms without ownership rights, in exchange for corvée labor and tributes). The foundation of the nobility’s existence was the income derived from their land, cultivated through the labor of serfs.

In the second half of the 18th century, seeking to maintain their income levels, the nobility began to adopt new farming techniques modeled after the royal domains. These included reducing the amount of fallow land (moving from the three-field system to crop rotation), introducing new crops such as potatoes (starting in 1746), and expanding sheep farming for wool production. Furthermore, the nobility was granted opportunities to increase their acreage through land reclamation and the clearing of wastelands. For instance, the water levels of Lake Madü (Miedwie) and Lake Vilm (Wielimie) near Neustettin (Szczecinek) were lowered to gain additional arable land. These processes gained momentum after the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763), when Frederick II allocated significant funds for the economic recovery (Retablissement) of the war-torn country. Alongside the royal domains, the nobility became the primary beneficiaries, receiving funds to develop their estates and settle new colonists. Although the King intended this aid for the impoverished gentry, the main recipients were high-ranking officials and officers (generals and colonels) who held vast landed estates. These individuals hailed primarily from families such as von Below, von Borcke, von Flemming, von Kamecke, von Kleist, von Podewils, von Puttkammer, von Zastrow, von Zitzewitz, and others.

“Changes in the relief efforts occurred with the establishment of the Pomeranian Credit Association (Pommersche Landschaft) in 1781. This institution was designed to provide credit for the debt relief of noble estates and to accelerate their modernization through measures such as land separation (the division of manorial and peasant lands), land reclamation, and new farming techniques. In reality, the introduction of guaranteed easy credit, combined with the excessive consumerism of the Junkers, caused many landowners to fall into a spiral of debt secured against the mortgages of their estates, which were subsequently auctioned or foreclosed. In 1800, 627 knightly estates (Rittergüter) in Pomerania, listed in the credit association’s debt registers, held a total debt of 6.15 million thalers. During the 1790s, many of these estates became subjects of speculative trading, changing owners several times. Some indebted noble families managed to retain their properties by arranging marriages between their descendants and representatives of the new nobility, the wealthy bourgeoisie, or high-ranking royal officials.

The absolute authority of the nobility over the peasantry—encompassing personal serfdom, land bondage, and judicial jurisdiction—was confirmed by the Great Elector Frederick William. However, it began to be modestly limited by Kings Frederick William I and Frederick II through a policy known as peasant protection (Bauernschutz). This policy was rooted in pragmatism, as peasants were both payers of royal taxes (Kontribution) and, most importantly, the primary reservoir of recruits for the army. Consequently, excessive exploitation of the rural population by the noble manor was detrimental to the Hohenzollern state. Peasant protection primarily consisted of preventing the Junkers from evicting peasants from their farmsteads to consolidate the land into their manorial estates, and restraining them from excessively increasing corvée labor requirements.

Subjects of the Hohenzollern electors and kings were obliged to pay high taxes, primarily the contribution (Kontribution)—a tax on real estate and land—which in towns was replaced in 1682 by the excise (Akzise), a consumption tax. To increase the tax-paying capacity of the monarchy’s inhabitants, the Hohenzollerns pursued a cameralist policy, a German variation of French mercantilism. These measures regarding Western Pomeranian towns proved effective only in the 18th century during the reigns of Frederick William I and, especially, Frederick II. This was particularly evident after the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763), which caused a severe economic regression in Western Pomerania and other provinces of the Prussian monarchy. Frederick II’s decisive actions through grants and loans for the country’s recovery (Retablissement), as well as the favorable economic climate (including the American Revolutionary War), contributed to the state’s economic and demographic restoration. In the towns, burghers—especially new settlers—received financial aid to establish workshops or manufactories. The latter, often arriving from countries with higher levels of economic development, brought new techniques in production, crop cultivation, animal husbandry, and trade, and above all, their own financial capital. Pomeranian towns also benefited from this. In Stettin (Szczecin), as early as 1721, King Frederick William I ordered the settlement of French colonists (Huguenots). This community in the Pomeranian capital numbered about 600 people, and its representatives actively integrated into economic life, establishing manufactories, wholesale warehouses, and participating in overseas trade. Abraham Dubendorf, a mechanic and owner of a cloth manufactory of Swiss origin from the Huguenot community, built a water supply system in Stettin between 1729 and 1732, bringing water to the city from the Warszewo Hills (Warsower Hügel).

The towns of Prussian Pomerania (55 in total) were predominantly small craft centers, and their inhabitants often engaged in farming as well (so-called ‘burgher-farmers’). Many had fewer than 1,000 residents (e.g., Gülzow [Golczewo] – 359, Zachan [Suchań] – 550, Zanow [Sianów] – 585, Wangerin [Węgorzyno] – 673), and more than a dozen remained private towns (e.g., Labes [Łobez], Rummelsburg [Miastko], Regenwalde [Resko], Wangerin [Węgorzyno]), under the patronage of the Pomeranian nobility. Their residents were obliged to pay royal taxes as well as tributes and services to the Junker manors. Only Stettin (Szczecin), and to a lesser extent Stargard, Kolberg (Kołobrzeg), and Stolp (Słupsk), served as significant centers of trade and crafts. Under Prussian rule, particularly after the Seven Years’ War, Stettin became a vital commercial port for the Hohenzollern state, serving as a hub for the export and import of various goods, including timber, grain, beer, wine, and colonial products. Its development was bolstered by the creation of a new waterway from the Szczecin Lagoon to the Baltic via the Swine Strait and the founding of the new port in Swinemünde (Świnoujście) in 1746, as well as Frederick II’s annexation of Silesia from Austria in 1740. The abolition of medieval staple rights in towns along the Oder and the regulation of the river for inland navigation also yielded positive results. In the 18th century, the cloth industry flourished in Pomeranian towns, based mainly on local wool and the putting-out system or guild-based craftsmanship. Production focused on cloth for uniforms, as well as lower-quality materials like zeug and rasch. Attempts were also made to introduce sericulture (silkworm breeding) and silk production. In Stettin and other coastal towns, shipbuilding—specifically the construction of sailing ships and boats—continued to develop.

Throughout the 18th century, Pomeranian towns—regardless of their status as royal or private—remained under strict state control. Tax councillors (Steuerräte), initially responsible for collecting the excise tax from towns, eventually became overseers of urban life, managing social and economic affairs as well as administration. In terms of governance, the Prussian kings regulated the organization of municipal authorities; they replaced the medieval, oligarchic structures based on town councils and juries with magistrates whose officials were appointed by the royal authority. Furthermore, in accordance with the monarchs’ cameralist policies, these magistrates were required to maintain rational financial policies and orderly municipal management, ensuring street cleanliness, fire safety, and sanitation. Decrees were issued for the paving of streets, the regulation of waste removal, the construction of houses with brick chimneys and tiled roofs, and the establishment of cemeteries outside city walls.

Oto tłumaczenie Twojego tekstu na język angielski, z zachowaniem precyzyjnej terminologii dotyczącej pruskiej administracji centralnej i terenowej: Tłumaczenie: “In 1713, the King established the Pomeranian War Commissariat (Pommersches Kriegskommissariat), which rapidly became a highly influential office in the province, usurping the competencies of the Economic Chamber (Amtskammer) and the Pomeranian Regency (Pommersche Regierung), both of which had been operating since the mid-17th century. In 1723, Frederick William I merged the first two offices (the Commissariat and the Chamber) into a single entity—as he did in other provinces—forming the Pomeranian War and Domain Chamber (Pommersche Kriegs- und Domänenkammer). As a key element of Frederick William I’s cameralist policy in Prussia, this institution became the most vital link in the province’s general, police, fiscal, sanitary, construction, and economic administration, as well as army procurement. It supervised all aspects of economic and social life, controlling the towns through tax councillors and rural society through landrats (district administrators) and general leaseholders. The Chamber was subordinate to the General Directory in Berlin, which functioned as a ‘super-ministry’ for internal affairs, administration, finance, and the economy (including crafts, construction, industry, and trade). The Chamber was initially established in Stargard in February 1723, but after only a few months, it was moved to Stettin (Szczecin), which became the administrative center for all of Prussian Pomerania. Alongside the Chamber, the Stettin Castle also housed the Regency and the Consistory (Evangelisches Konsistorium). The latter, headed by a General Superintendent, supervised the Evangelical Church and the school system. It was linked through a personal union via its president with the Pomeranian Regency, which, following the ‘Soldier King’s’ reforms, lost virtually all administrative powers and became an appellate court for the Pomeranian province. This status was confirmed by Frederick II’s judicial reform in 1746. This monarch issued numerous edicts and rescripts that strictly regulated the social and economic lives of Prussian subjects. These efforts culminated in the General State Laws for the Prussian States of 1794 (Allgemeines Landrecht für die Preußischen Staaten, ALR), which was also implemented in Pomerania. This code, comprising nearly 20,000 paragraphs, regulated all areas of civil, criminal, family, social, and administrative law.

In 1725, the King also introduced a reform of the territorial division; in place of the noble districts that had existed since the early 17th century, he established noble counties (Landratskreise) modeled after those in Brandenburg. These were headed by landrats (district administrators) drawn from the local Junker elites. Some of these counties were purely ancestral in nature, such as the county of the von Borcke family, which primarily encompassed the Łobez lands—the main domain of that family’s estates. Similar counties were held by the families of von Dewitz, von Flemming, von Glasenapp, von der Osten, von Wedel, and others. Furthermore, separate domain districts (Domänenämter) continued to exist, which from the 1720s onward were managed by general leaseholders (Generalpächter).

During the 18th century, particularly in its second half, a revival of culture and science became evident among the Pomeranian bourgeoisie and nobility. The gymnasiums in Stargard (the Groeninghe School) and Neustettin (Szczecinek, founded by Duchess Hedwig) continued to operate, but of primary importance was the Academic Gymnasium in Prussian Stettin (Szczecin). Reactivated in 1715 and also known as the Marienstift Gymnasium, it maintained a high standard of education throughout the 18th century. Its professors were not only renowned teachers but also distinguished scholars. Daniel de Superville, a professor of medicine, conducted anatomical research and was a co-founder of the University of Erlangen, while Johann Carl Conrad Oelrichs was an eminent jurist and historian.

Despite attempts to establish a university in Prussian Pomerania, graduates of the aforementioned gymnasiums—as well as council schools (such as the Stettin City Council Lyceum)—studied at Prussian universities in Königsberg, Frankfurt an der Oder, and Halle. They also sought education in other German states and even as far as Leiden in the Netherlands.

Burghers, representatives of the nobility, and royal officials were deeply interested in art, literature, and history. Art collections and private libraries were established, often containing unique volumes and archival materials. In the mid-18th century, judicial councillor Friedrich Dreger compiled a 12-volume Pomeranian diplomatic code (Codex diplomaticus Pomeraniae), while figures such as Matthäus Heinrich von Liebherr, Samuel Gottlieb von Loper, and Landrat Friedrich Wilhelm von der Osten built extensive collections of documents and archives related to the history of Pomerania in their palaces and manor houses. Meanwhile, individuals like Pastor Jacques Pérard in Stettin and Ewald Georg von Kleist in Cammin (Kamień Pomorski) conducted research in physics, specifically in the field of electricity. In 1745, the latter discovered the principle of storing an electric charge, leading to the invention of the Kleistian jar, also known as the Leyden jar.

In the final decades of the 18th century, following the French model, literary salons became fashionable in Stettin (Szczecin) and other major towns. In the Pomeranian capital, such open houses were hosted by Princess Elizabeth of Brunswick, who resided at the Stettin Castle, and Madame Sophie Auguste Tilebein, the wife of a prominent Stettin merchant and granddaughter of the aforementioned physics researcher Jacques Pérard.

At the dawn of the modern era (the early 19th century), Pomerania constituted an integral part of the Hohenzollern state, which was evident not only in its economic and legal-political ties but also in its social fabric. The cameralist policy pursued in Pomerania resulted in significant economic and civilizational development. Although the province remained primarily agricultural, dominated by Junker-owned landed estates and royal domain administrations, civilizational progress was noticeable not only in large urban centers but also in small towns (wells, brick houses with tiled roofs, the paving of main streets, a decrease in the number of fires, and a reduction in the frequency of epidemics and infectious diseases). These transformations had a decisive impact on the demographic growth of Pomerania, whose population increased from 220,000 to 500,000 between 1710 and 1806.

More:

Historia Pomorza, tom II, część III: Pomorze Zachodnie (1648-1815), red. Gerard Labuda, Poznań: Wydawnictwo Poznańskie 2003.

Pomorze Zachodnie poprzez wieki, red. J.M. Piskorski, Szczecin: Zamek Książąt Pomorskich 1999.

Dzieje Szczecina, tom 2, red. Gerard Labuda, Poznań-Warszawa: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe 1985.

Paweł Gut