He was a master statesman – Frederick was not just great general, but also a great ruler and statesman.
Frederick was a great builder and he did not only build places for himself but build up his kingdom’s infrastructure. Prussia was to have one of the world’s first public school system and it was to have one of the highest literacy rates in the world. Frederick was also interested in agriculture and he introduced the potato into Prussia. Previously, the country had experienced periodic food shortages and when the people began to grow the potato, they no longer had this problem. Frederick also established a law that meant that every peasant had the right to approach him and ask him for a favour. This earned him the nickname of ‘King of the Beggars’.
His opinion was sought by the entire civilised world, and he always gave good advice. He was very popular in America. One little-known fact is that after America defeated Britain, the Americans wrote offered, Frederick’s brother Prince Henry as the King of America. Frederick forbade his brother to take the crown. This was because if Henry was King of America this could antagonise France or Britain and could lead to a war, which an exhausted Prussia could not undertake.