Background
Born in Cölln on the Spree (today part of Berlin), George William was the son of John Sigismund, Margrave of Brandenburg and Anna of Prussia.
Born in Cölln on the Spree (today part of Berlin), George William was the son of John Sigismund, Margrave of Brandenburg and Anna of Prussia.
His reign was marked by ineffective governance during the Thirty Years" War. He was the father of Frederick William, the "Great Elector". In 1616 George William married Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate.
Their only son Frederick William later became known as the "Great Elector".
Rule
In 1619 George William inherited the Margravate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia. He paid his feudal homage in person to the King of Poland, Sigismund III Vasa, in September 1621 in Warsaw (the Duchy of Prussia was a fief of the Kingdom of Poland at the time).
The homage was renewed in 1633 after the election of a new Polish king, Władysław IV Vasa. His rule was largely weak and ineffective, as much of government responsibilities in Brandenburg-Prussia was turned over to Schwarzenberg as the country suffered greatly during the war.
Whereas Ducal Prussia remained mostly untouched.
With his brother-in-law Gustavus dead in 1632, George William maintained the Swedish alliance until after the Swedish defeat at the Battle of Nördlingen on 6 September 1634. At that point, George William withdrew Brandenburg from the war and signed the Peace of Prague with Emperor Ferdinand II on 30 May 1635. Leaving Schwarzenberg in charge of the government, George William withdrew in 1637 to the relatively safe region of Ducal Prussia, where he lived in retirement until his death at Königsberg in Prussia in 1640.
Fruitbearing Society.